News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Alven Weil
Premier Inc.
704.733.5797

Premier enhances leading supply chain benchmarking tool so users can more easily identify cost-saving opportunities

Latest SupplyFocusTM version features multi-level reports, better benchmarking, improved data submission; 700-plus hospitals, health systems achieving results

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 28, 2008) – The Premier healthcare alliance today announced the release of significant enhancements to SupplyFocusTM, the industry’s leading supply chain benchmarking tool. The application, being used by more than 700 hospitals and healthcare systems, allows participants to more quickly and easily identify cost-saving opportunities, benchmark performance against peers and track progress toward improvement goals.

SupplyFocus’ IDN-, facility- and department-level reports tap into the industry's largest comparative database of operational and supply chain cost information and feature quarterly updates focused on financial and supply cost metrics.

In addition, SupplyFocus includes supplier data, allowing for analysis of contract pricing and penetration. Data analysis is enhanced by extensive custom peer grouping capability, allowing users to create an unlimited number of peer groups and benchmarks employing demographic information as well as performance metrics.

“The newest version of SupplyFocus provides comprehensive reports focusing on more than 40 indicators that measure cost and operational performance against peer groups,” said Premier Purchasing Partners President Mike Alkire. “SupplyFocus gives our member users a strategic edge by helping them make their supply spend more efficient and significantly impacting bottom line. We listened to what users were telling us they need to help them do a better job of managing scarce resources.

“Key features include quarterly reports for frequent performance monitoring,” Alkire noted. “Annual roll-up reports can be run for any combination of four consecutive quarters. Identified improvement opportunities are calculated against the closest benchmarking quartile, so the focus is on incremental improvement.”

Additional new functionality includes:

Multiple peer groups can now be used on the same report, allowing hospitals to benchmark multiple departments based on their specific needs for ongoing comparisons;
Customized peer grouping by facility identifier, hospital demographic data obtained via profile responses, and data-based metrics;
Web-based data submission so users can easily download, e-mail, save, and upload data.

Supply chain performance reports include:

A SupplyFocus Facility Report, providing performance snapshots based on a number of financial and operational indicators and departmental supply cost metrics. Using custom peer groups, the report can identify potential improvement opportunities for the facility and high supply utilization departments.
A SupplyFocus IDN Report, featuring a roll-up of financial and operational indicators and providing opportunity analysis using benchmark data calculated from peer IDNs. Also included are supply spend metrics and contract utilization information, including breakouts in areas such as Labor, Dietary, Pharmacy and Capital.
A SupplyFocus Per4mance Report, designed by leading materials management professionals to facilitate opportunity analysis using four supply cost metrics: total supply expense as percent of total operating expense, total supply expense as percent of net revenue, total supply expense per adjusted discharge, and total supply expense per adjusted patient day.

Premier client service professionals work with participants to facilitate data submission, and all data are validated via an easy to understand audit report before entering the database. To further ensure accuracy, SupplyFocus has clear definitions for each data element to ensure apples-to-apples comparison among peer facilities. The database is enhanced with data from facilities that subscribe to Premier’s OperationsAdvisorTM labor benchmarking application and receive SupplyFocus reports.

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.