Healthcare organizations will need to look beyond price inflation when planning their 2027 non-labor expenses, according to a new Spend Management Outlook from Vizient.

Vizient projects pharmaceutical prices to increase 3.54% and supply chain prices to rise an average of 3.39%. However, the organization cautions that utilization, reimbursement, product mix, site-of-care changes, technology adoption, and supply availability could have a greater effect on actual spending.

Indirect spending and purchased services are projected to experience the greatest supply chain increase at 4.73%. IT hardware and software lead all categories with a projected 6.29% increase, followed by construction at 4.70%. Medical and surgical products are expected to rise 3.05%, while capital and imaging equipment are projected to increase 3.21%.

Pharmacy spending is also shifting beyond the inpatient environment. Specialty and complex medications are projected to increase 4.04%, while ambulatory pharmacy prices are expected to rise 3.64%. Vizient noted that growing utilization, payer requirements, reimbursement challenges, and specialized distribution channels could create greater financial exposure than drug price increases alone.

Vizient recommends that health systems improve spending visibility across care settings, strengthen oversight of costly technologies and therapies, and align supply chain, pharmacy, finance, and clinical leaders around total cost of care. Supplier diversification, contract discipline, demand forecasting, and early procurement planning will also be important as tariffs, geopolitical disruptions, raw-material constraints and labor shortages continue to affect supply availability.

The Vizient report connects closely with several themes HPN has been following throughout 2026. Most importantly, it serves as a direct update to HPN’s February coverage of Vizient’s Winter 2026 outlook.

• Rising supply chain forecast: HPN previously reported that Vizient expected overall supply chain prices to rise 2.78%. The new outlook raises that projection to 3.39%, a 0.61-percentage-point increase. It confirms that cost pressures have intensified as health systems prepare for 2027.
• IT and purchased services remain major drivers: The February report found that pharmacy was no longer the fastest-growing non-labor expense, with IT, facilities and purchased services moving to the forefront. The new outlook reinforces that shift, projecting a 4.73% increase in indirect spending and purchased services and a 6.29% increase in IT hardware and software.