CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 5, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Johns Hopkins Health System has expanded its relationship with Premier, Inc. (Nasdaq:PINC) to support system-wide improvements in supply chain efficiency. The expansion means that all six hospitals in the health system will use Premier's suite of integrated supply chain services and will have the opportunity to participate in additional programs for analytics and performance improvement services. Howard County General Hospital, Sibley Memorial Hospital and Suburban Hospital already had worked with Premier for the past decade. Now, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and All Children's Hospital have joined.
"It's essential to identify opportunities to continue to provide world-class patient care in the most cost effective manner, particularly considering the increased fiscal pressures we are realizing in the healthcare delivery sector," said Ronald R. Peterson, president of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine. "Through collaborations with organizations such as Premier, we are able to leverage their systems, know-how and purchasing power to achieve cost savings."
According to Ronald Werthman, senior vice president of finance/treasurer and chief financial officer at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, "By expanding our relationship with Premier, we hope to more completely leverage our purchasing power across the health system. Equally as important, we will be able to utilize systems and tools that will add value to our integrated system as we continue to provide innovative and high-quality patient care."
Collectively, Premier's services are designed to help healthcare providers lower the cost of care, deliver continuous quality improvement, drive operational efficiencies and holistically develop the capabilities required to address the evolving healthcare environment.
Premier aggregates clinical, supply chain and resource usage data by hospital, doctor and condition and compares it with data from thousands of providers nationwide. With this information, providers work to identify variation and overutilization to standardize purchases and practices. As a result, they have the ability to obtain better pricing on quality products while reducing purchases of unneeded supplies.
"Johns Hopkins Medicine has long been an innovation center," said Susan DeVore, Premier president and CEO. "Premier recognizes the significant challenges facing healthcare institutions, and we understand the amount of change required to meet tomorrow's demands. We're excited about the opportunity to be an enabling agent of change, and look forward to serving Johns Hopkins."
About Premier, Inc.
Premier, Inc. (Nasdaq:PINC) is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting more than 2,900 U.S. hospitals and nearly 100,000 other providers to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and advisory and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier, a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare. Please visit Premier's news and investor sites on www.premierinc.com; as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Foursquare and Premier's blog for more information about the company.
About The Johns Hopkins Health System
The Johns Hopkins Health System includes six academic and community hospitals. It is part of Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM), a $6.7 billion integrated global health enterprise and one of the leading health care systems in the United States. JHM unites physicians and scientists of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with the organizations, health professionals and facilities of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System. In addition to its six hospitals, JHM includes four suburban health care and surgery centers, more than 35 primary health care outpatient sites and other businesses that care for national and international patients and activities. JHM's mission is to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, opened in 1889, was ranked number one in the nation for 21 years by U.S. News & World Report.