Carolinas Medical Center NorthEast Selects Premier Healthcare Alliance Quality Improvement Solution to Improve Patient Care, Reduce Costs

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Premier healthcare alliance today announced that Carolinas Medical Center NorthEast (CMC-NorthEast) of Concord, N.C., selected Premier’s QualityAdvisor™ solution to improve delivery of patient care and safely reduce costly avoidable patient events.

“One of our main objectives is to have a consistent solution and process for driving high-quality care across our entire healthcare system”

“One of our main objectives is to have a consistent solution and process for driving high-quality care across our entire healthcare system,” said Deb McGowan, director of performance improvement at CMC-NorthEast, part of the Carolinas Healthcare System. “Our goal is to work side by side with our physicians to identify areas for process improvement that will ensure the best quality care for our patients. This healthcare data product is a key element and given its strong physician reporting capabilities that help support The Joint Commission Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluations (OPPE), QualityAdvisor will enhance our ability to better define those opportunities and engage in meaningful dialogue with our physicians.”

QualityAdvisor, part of Premier’s QualityConnect™, combines clinically proven analytical methods with a benchmark database of more than 600 facilities to provide timely, actionable information in all levels of a healthcare organization. The solution identifies clinical and financial improvement opportunities, understands drivers for variation in practice, and monitors quality of care.

“The intent of the OPPE requirements is to help care providers drive performance improvements on a more timely basis, identifying areas for improvement so doctors can improve their care over time and not be penalized for something out of their control," said Premier Senior Vice President of Healthcare Informatics Keith J. Figlioli. “Our solutions support The Joint Commission OPPE recommended metrics, identifying variance in practice patterns and resource utilization to provide analyses that tell our members what they need to know to make meaningful, rapid change. Premier has saved hospitals and health systems nationwide millions of dollars by isolating process breakdowns that can lead to variation in practice, as well as prioritizing clinical process improvements and quality management opportunities."

Using methodologies such as the National Quality Forum’s "Hospital Performance: Additional Priority Areas" CareScience Risk Adjusted Average Length of Inpatient Hospital Stay Measure, patient outcomes metrics are used to trend patient demographics, treatment patterns, patient flow, resource utilization, provider comparisons, and events after admission and their resulting impacts.

In addition, Premier Consulting Solutions™ provides consulting to hospitals working to create the processes around OPPE and Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE) in anticipation of The Joint Commission surveys.

Along with supporting The Joint Commission OPPE regulatory reporting needs, QualityAdvisor also provides analyses on Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) indicators and hospital acquired conditions, and links core measures data to outcomes.

Key features of QualityAdvisor include:

Patient outcomes: Leverage captured patient and process data to identify strategic quality of care improvement opportunities.
Clinical performance: Supply performance improvement teams with comparative information that prompts action.
Financial performance: Pinpoint areas of care where process modifications will yield greatest cost savings without sacrificing quality.
Operational performance: Track patient flow and resource utilization for a deeper understanding of clinical and operational outcomes and expenditures.
Strategic planning: Benchmark against peer organizations and implement best-practices that have a real-world impact on healthcare institutions.
Physician performance: Formalize physician reporting with Physician Profiles.
Compliance: Achieve regulatory compliance with one solution for submitting quality measures.

Premier's QualityConnect is an integrated product and services offering aimed at addressing the pressing quality of care challenges facing healthcare organizations today.

About Carolinas Medical Center NorthEast

CMC-NorthEast is a regional 457-bed, not-for-profit medical center with a reputation for excellence built on advanced technology, medical staff talent, quality and compassionate care. CMC-NorthEast has 4,200 employees serving in more than 30 facilities located throughout the region. As a Level III Trauma Center, CMC-NorthEast's Emergency Care Center provides treatment for patients needing immediate medical care, including the stabilization and treatment of trauma patients. Board-certified emergency specialists and specially trained emergency nurses provide care to approximately 85,000 patients a year, 24 hours a day.

About Carolinas HealthCare System

Carolinas HealthCare System includes 32 affiliated hospitals in North and South Carolina. As one of the leading healthcare systems in the Southeast, Carolinas HealthCare employs some 1,400 physicians and serves patients at more than 500 care locations including physician practices, nursing homes, surgical and rehabilitation centers, home health agencies and other facilities. These operations comprise more than 6,300 licensed beds and employ some 44,000 people.

CHS’ flagship facility is Carolinas Medical Center, an 874-bed hospital in Charlotte that includes a Level I Trauma Center, a research institute and numerous specialty units (heart, cancer, organ transplant, behavioral health, etc.). CMC also serves as one of North Carolina’s five academic medical center teaching hospitals, providing graduate medical education for more than 250 physicians in 18 specialties.

Levine Children’s Hospital has been recognized as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report. Other CMC hospitals have also been honored by J.D. Power and Associates for maternity, emergency and in-patient services. Carolinas HealthCare’s “community benefit,” which includes the value of indigent care, uncompensated medical services, education, research and charitable contributions, totals more than $770 million annually.

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

The Premier healthcare alliance is more than 2,300 U.S. hospitals and 64,000-plus other healthcare sites working together to improve healthcare quality and affordability. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has offices in San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington. Follow Premier on Twitter.