In Partnership with AHRMM, Institute for Supply Management® Expands Portfolio of Economic Reports with Launch of Hospital PMI™

CHICAGO, July 23, 2020 — In partnership with the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM) of the American Hospital Association, Institute for Supply Management (ISM) is launching its first vertical ISM® Report On Business® in a critical services sector: hospitals. The Hospital PMI™ is the first report of its kind, delving into areas that specifically cover hospital supply chains. The inaugural report will be released Friday, August 7, at 10 am EST featuring July 2020 data.

Amid the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Hospital PMI™ represents a significant opportunity to assess and better understand domestic hospital supply chains. The Hospital PMI™ will feature the same depth of data that is included in the long-standing ISM® Report On Business® reports, along with several hospital-specific dimensions.

"ISM is proud to expand the depth of our economic insights as we look to serve the supply management profession and the greater economic community," said ISM CEO Thomas Derry. "Long planned, the Hospital PMI™ promises to be a valuable tool to clinicians, administrators and policy makers just as the fragility of medical supply chains has become a pivotal topic."

Hospital-specific data has been collected since April 2018, and monthly reports will be released on the fifth business day of the month at 10 am EST. Just as with the established indexes within the ISM® Report On Business®, a reading above 50 percent indicates the hospital sector of the U.S. economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates the U.S. hospital sector is generally contracting.

The Hospital PMI™ Chair representing the hospital supply chain community and panel respondents will be Nancy LeMaster. LeMaster spent most of her career at BJC HealthCare in St. Louis, MO, where she was the vice president of supply chain transformation. She has since parlayed her extensive health care supply chain experience into consulting and provides a unique perspective to this new economic report.

"The fact that ISM chose the hospital industry as the first vertical to have its own index tells you a lot about the far-reaching impact health care has on the overall economy," said Hospital Business Survey Committee Chair Nancy LeMaster. "This new tool will provide insight that previously was unavailable to the industry as it works to restructure its supply chains in the wake of COVID-19."

In creating this index, ISM collaborated with AHRMM, a leading professional membership group for the health care supply chain, of the American Hospital Association, along with Strategic Marketplace Initiatives (SMI), in initial recruitment activities. This collaborative framework helped to shape this report and assisted in driving panel participants.

"The Hospital PMI™ is an important initiative for the health care supply chain profession as well as the health care field at large," said AHRMM Executive Director Debbie Sprindzunas. "Collaborating with ISM on the expansion of their portfolio was a natural fit."

"Our vision is that this report becomes another valuable source of information that health care executives, business and policy leaders can use as a guide for their strategic planning." said Michael Schiller, AHRMM senior director of supply chain.

The ISM® Report On Business® represents the most reliable economic indicators available, providing guidance to supply management professionals, economists, analysts and government and business leaders. The reports have been consistently accurate in indicating the direction of the overall economy in addition to the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors. However, the reports should be used in conjunction with other economic measurements.

For more information on the Hospital PMI™, please visit www.ahrmm.org/HospitalPMI.