Premier Healthcare Alliance Experts to Present at National Events in January

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leaders from the Premier healthcare alliance will speak around the country in January, sharing insights regarding healthcare supply chain data standardization and value, health policy and value-based purchasing.

Joe Pleasant, FHIMSS, senior vice president and chief information officer, will provide an update on the standardization of data in the supply chain at the World Health Care Congress 3^rd Annual Leadership Summit on Healthcare Supply Chain Management on January 20 in Las Vegas. The keynote session will discuss the push towards standardization as a means to improve patient safety while reducing supply chain costs. In July of 2008, Premier became to the first group purchasing organization (GPO) to endorse the use of GS1® supply chain standards.

Sharon Conklin, vice president, Client Engagement and Delivery, will also speak at the World Health Care Congress about moving from value analysis to value-based purchasing, also known as pay-for-performance (P4P). Premier has partnered since 2003 with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID) P4P project.

Eugene Kroch, vice president and chief scientist, will discuss federal health policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania on January 27 in Philadelphia.

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

Serving more than 2,100 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.