CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Health system members of the Premier healthcare alliance validated a record savings of more than $1.45 billion last year by collaborating to improve performance, integrating and comparing data, and using innovative purchasing practices. These cost achievements are on top of an additional $2.75 billion in savings from lowering product pricing for hospitals, while helping them increase revenues.
The total savings are equivalent to the average annual salary of 70,015 nurse practitioners. Of note:
- Banner Health, a nonprofit health system serving seven Western states, saved $41.5 million by standardizing clinical and supply chain processes to improve care and reduce costs.
- University Hospitals, a leading health system serving Northeast Ohio, saved $18 million while providing high-quality, patient-centered medical care.
- Crittenton Hospital Medical Center, a 290-bed hospital, saved $4 million, reduced overtime and increased patient satisfaction.
“The Commonwealth Fund has suggested that by sharing best practices, the U.S. could reap substantial benefits to overall health, patient experiences and cost savings,” said Rich Statuto, president and CEO of Bon Secours Health System Inc., who received the Premier Excellence Award in 2011. “That’s what the Premier alliance does. We benefit from our membership every day, as we focus on delivering high-quality care across the continuum and improving the health of our population.”
Premier President and CEO Susan DeVore said, “Even in this time of much uncertainty, Premier alliance members continue to set standards for care delivery that are evidence-based and driven through data. These hospitals and health systems are increasing the quality in and efficiency of their care process to benefit patients and make their communities a healthier place to live.”
Additional savings and quality advances are a result of member collaboration in Premier’s performance improvement initiatives such as:
- The QUEST®: High Performing Hospitals collaborative, with more than 300 hospital members. QUEST hospitals increase adherence to evidence-based care delivery in six critical areas to improve the patient experience and avoid harm while reducing mortality, cost of care and readmissions.
- Advanced Hospital Care in Hawaii. The nation's first statewide partnership between a health plan and hospitals to measure their progress to high-quality care using QUEST best practices.
- The PACT™ (Partnership for Care Transformation) with more than 350 hospitals accessing best practices within QUEST to eliminate waste, improve quality, and promote health and wellness across the continuum.
- Regional and national purchasing collaboratives, like ASCEND® (Accelerated Supply Chain Endeavor), which has helped hospitals save $56+ million by aggregating, monitoring and analyzing supply chain data to improve performance.
Alliance members use Premier, an InformationWeek 500 top technology innovator, to access performance improvement applications within the nation’s largest clinical comparative database – complete with clinical, financial and operational outcomes data that accounts for one in four hospital admissions.
- Approximately $420 million was saved last year by hospitals using quality, supply chain, labor and safety improvement applications to integrate and compare information in Premier’s database.
- Premier Performance Partners also helped members save more than $78 million by working onsite with providers to support hospitals in enhancing care delivery.
Based on research by Lawton R. Burns, Ph.D., on hospital purchasing alliances, Premier helped hospitals reduce costs by 14 percent of its purchasing volume last year. The alliance also returned a record $295 million in cash distributions to its owner hospitals and health systems.
About the Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals and 81,000-plus other non-acute sites using the power of collaboration to lead the transformation to high quality, cost-effective care. Owned by hospitals, health systems and other providers, 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 has worked 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 an office in Washington. http://www.premierinc.com. Stay connected with Premier on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.