Sharp HealthCare Expands Premier Healthcare Alliance Affiliation to Include Web-based Infection Tracking Tool

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sharp HealthCare and the Premier healthcare alliance, both based in San Diego and both recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, are expanding their collaborative relationship. Five Sharp hospitals soon will deploy Premier SafetySurveillor™ infection control and pharmacy modules to track and prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and optimize antibiotic use, thereby increasing patient safety and reducing costs.

“We evaluated a number of infection control systems available in the marketplace and decided that Premier’s would best meet these critical needs.”

“Healthcare professionals are acutely aware of the importance of managing infections in the clinical setting to provide patients with the best and safest care,” said Nancy Pratt, Sharp’s senior VP of Clinical Effectiveness. “We evaluated a number of infection control systems available in the marketplace and decided that Premier’s would best meet these critical needs.”

Sharp will deploy SafetySurveillor in Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego; Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, Chula Vista; Sharp Coronado Hospital, Coronado; Sharp Grossmont Hospital, La Mesa; and Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women, San Diego.

Premier Epidemiologist/Director of Infection Prevention Salah Qutaishat, PhD, CIC, FSHEA, said, “We are excited to have Sharp HealthCare as part of Premier's harm avoidance program. We particularly welcome Sharp’s quality thought leadership as we collaborate with other Premier alliance members to transform healthcare. Research has shown HAIs are often preventable if identified and isolated in time. Premier is committed to helping hospitals find and implement innovative infection control methods to create safer hospital environments and improve the quality of patient care.”

More than 200 hospitals nationwide have chosen the Web-based application, making SafetySurveillor the most widely adopted infection control solution in the past 12 months. It helps hospitals meet state-mandated public reporting of certain HAIs, including screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile, some of the most common and harmful infections found in hospitals today. With SafetySurveillor hospitals can automatically detect HAIs and alert staff, facilitating timely intervention to reduce and prevent infections.

Premier’s SafetySurveillor is one of the HAI surveillance system software vendors participating in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention project to develop a standards-based solution for transmission of HAI data from hospitals using existing commercial software systems to the agency's National Healthcare Safety network.

A not-for-profit integrated regional healthcare delivery system, Sharp has been a Premier healthcare alliance owner and participant in the group purchasing network since 1989. Sharp received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s top award for quality, in 2007; Premier won it in 2006.

Sharp HealthCare

A 2007 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, Sharp HealthCare is San Diego's most comprehensive healthcare delivery system. It is recognized for clinical excellence for services in cardiac, cancer and multiorgan transplantation, as well as orthopedics, rehabilitation, behavioral health and women's health. Sharp HealthCare has been widely acclaimed for its commitment to transform the healthcare experience for patients, physicians and staff through an organization-wide performance improvement initiative called The Sharp Experience. The Sharp system includes four acute-care hospitals, three specialty hospitals, two affiliated medical groups and a health plan. To learn more about Sharp, visit www.sharp.com.

About Premier Inc., 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient

Serving more than 2,000 U.S. hospitals and 53,000-plus other healthcare sites, the Premier healthcare alliance and its members are transforming healthcare together. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier operates one of the leading healthcare purchasing networks and the nation's most comprehensive repository of hospital clinical and financial information. A subsidiary operates one of the nation's largest policy-holder owned, hospital professional liability risk-retention groups. A world leader in helping healthcare providers deliver dramatic improvements in care, Premier is working with the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Washington. For more information, visit www.premierinc.com.