Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, based in Winston-Salem; WakeMed Health & Hospitals, based in Raleigh; and Vidant Health, based in Greenville, are forming a new shared-services operating company that allows each entity to remain independent, according to an article on the Journal Now website.

The company will share supply-chain management, select information-technology infrastructure and clinical protocols. The three health systems are not direct competitors; each serves a different section of the state. 

“These three organizations have joined resources to more quickly innovate care models and support infrastructure that reduce cost and best meet the needs of the diverse patient, consumer and workforce populations that we serve throughout the state,” Dr. John McConnell, Wake Forest Baptist’s chief executive, said in the article.

While the three systems don’t compete with each other, they have competition from other systems, which should also help serve to keep costs down, the article said.

Read the article.