News

Premier healthcare alliance and West Penn Allegheny Health System recognize Rep. Mike Doyle for his efforts to improve patient care while safely reducing costs

Doyle efforts lead to passing of law requiring unique medical device identification system in hospitals

Linda Rouse, Premier; Peg McCormick Barron, West Penn Allegheny Health System; U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA); Margaret Reagan, Premier (L to R)

The Premier healthcare alliance and West Penn Allegheny Health System yesterday honored U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA) for his outstanding leadership in advancing legislation to improve the quality of healthcare.

Peg McCormick Barron, vice president of legislative affairs for West Penn Allegheny, Margaret Reagan, vice president of advocacy for Premier and Linda Rouse, director of federal affairs for Premier, presented the “Healthcare Transformation Award” to Rep. Doyle today in Washington, DC. The award recognizes members of Congress for their efforts to advance legislation to improve healthcare quality while safely reducing costs.

“I’m honored to accept this award,” Congressman Doyle said. “Naturally, when I found out that a serious health threat to millions of Americans could be eliminated simply by requiring unique identifiers for medical devices, I wanted to do it. That’s why I offered an amendment to the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act that required medical devices to carry a unique identifier like a barcode or an identification chip.”

Congress passed and President Bush signed into law on September 27 legislation that includes a provision requiring the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to put into place a unique medical device identification system to expedite and increase the reliability of medical device recalls and reduce healthcare costs. Rep. Doyle was instrumental in garnering the support of his U.S. House of Representative colleagues to include legislative language on unique device identification in the final bill that was approved by Congress and signed by the president.

“We applaud Representative Doyle for his crucial role in moving legislation through Congress that will help West Penn Allegheny Health System and other hospitals more efficiently track medical devices and ensure that the right device is available to the right patient at the right time,” said W. Keith Smith, President and CEO of West Penn Allegheny Health System. “A unique identification system for medical devices is crucial to our hospitals as we continually seek to improve patient safety.”

As a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Doyle has provided leadership on other important healthcare issues such as the reauthorization and expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

“Representative Doyle has been a leader in Congress in championing legislation that will enhance hospitals’ efforts to improve patient safety while safely reducing costs,” said Blair Childs, senior vice president of public affairs for Premier. “As a result of Representative Doyle’s efforts, Congress addressed the urgent need for a uniform numbering system, known as unique device identification, that will enable bar coding and other electronic tracking systems for medical devices. This step is critical to improving patient safety, reducing medical errors, enhancing medical device recall processes and improving device adverse event reporting.”

About West Penn Allegheny Health System
West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS) features some of the oldest and best-known names in health care in western Pennsylvania. From their inception, the system’s hospitals have been in the vanguard of patient care, medical research and health sciences education.

Comprised of two tertiary and four community hospitals, WPAHS includes Allegheny General Hospital and The Western Pennsylvania Hospital, both in Pittsburgh; Alle-Kiski Medical Center in Natrona Heights; Canonsburg General Hospital in Canonsburg; The Western Pennsylvania Hospital – Forbes Regional Campus in Monroeville; and Allegheny General Hospital – Suburban Campus in Bellevue. Offering a comprehensive range of medical and surgical services, the hospitals serve Pittsburgh and the surrounding five-state area, house more than 2,000 beds and employ more than 14,000 people. Together, the WPAHS hospitals admit more than 82,000 patients each year, log more than 185,000 emergency visits and deliver nearly 5,000 newborns. Combined, the hospitals are among the leaders in percentages of total surgeries, cardiac surgeries, neurosurgeries and cardiac catheterization procedures performed throughout the region.

About Premier Inc., 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient
Serving 1,700 hospitals and more than 49,000 other healthcare sites, Premier is the largest healthcare alliance in the United States dedicated to improving patient outcomes while safely reducing the cost of care. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier operates one of the nation's largest healthcare purchasing networks and the most comprehensive repository of hospital clinical and financial information. Premier Insurance Management Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, operates one of the largest policy-holder owned, hospital professional liability risk-retention groups in healthcare. Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia, and Washington. For more information, visit www.premierinc.com.