CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 25, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC), a leading healthcare improvement company, has been awarded a contract from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in the second round of Hospital Engagement Networks in the Partnership for Patients initiative.

The Partnership for Patients initiative is focused on reducing preventable readmissions to hospitals by 20 percent and reducing preventable hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) by 40 percent. Premier has received approximately 500 letters of intent from hospitals to participate in its Hospital Engagement Network (HEN) for the second round of the program.

In the first three years of the program, Premier worked with approximately 450 hospitals participating in its HEN to reduce medical complications by 32 percent and all-cause, 30-day readmission rates by 6 percent. Specifically, Premier HEN hospitals avoided 58,102 readmissions and 19,760 adverse events, and saved nearly $750 million.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to continue working with a large group of hospitals to spread evidence-based healthcare improvements across the nation,” said Wes Champion, senior vice president of Premier Performance Partners. “Premier’s HEN will work to build on its accomplishments and achieve the goals of reducing preventable HACs and readmissions over the next year. These hospitals are committed to co-creating solutions that transform healthcare by transparently sharing data, outcomes and resources. We look forward to seeing the innovations they generate in the next round of this collaboration.”

The Partnership for Patients and participating HENs are part of an overall framework established by the Affordable Care Act to deliver better care and spend dollars more wisely. Since the launch of the Partnership for Patients, the vast majority of U.S. hospitals and many other stakeholders have joined the collaborative effort and delivered results. The Department of Health and Human Services has estimated that 50,000 fewer patients died in hospitals and approximately $12 billion in healthcare costs were saved as a result of a reduction in HACs from 2010 to 2013. Nationally, patient safety is improving, resulting in 1.3 million adverse events and infections avoided in hospitals in that time period. This translates to a 17 percent decline in HACs over the three-year period.

In round two of the program, Premier’s HEN will continue working at the regional, state, national and health system level to develop learning collaboratives for hospitals and provide a wide array of initiatives and activities to improve patient safety, as well as spread best practices to other providers. Premier will work with HEN participants to:

  • Conduct intensive training programs to teach and support hospitals in making patient care safer;
  • Provide technical assistance to hospitals so they can achieve quality measurement goals; and
  • Establish, implement, and improve the system to track and monitor hospital progress in meeting the Partnership for Patients’ quality improvement goals. 

The $9.3 million contract began September 24, 2015, and runs through September 23, 2016. The contract is expected to contribute approximately $7.0 million in revenue to Premier’s fiscal 2016 financial results. The company plans to update guidance accordingly during its Investor Day on October 6, 2015.

About Premier, Inc.

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of approximately 3,600 U.S. hospitals and 120,000 other providers to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and advisory and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier, a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare. Please visit Premier’s news and investor sites on www.premierinc.com; as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Premier’s blog for more information about the company.

Forward looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures

Matters discussed in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts, such as revenue and adjusted EBITDA expectations, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Premier to be materially different from historical results or from any future results or projections expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements in the conditional or future tenses or that include terms such as “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “estimates,” “intends,” “anticipates” or “plans” to be uncertain and forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include comments as to Premier’s beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside Premier’s control. More information on potential factors that could affect Premier’s financial results is included from time to time in the “Forward Looking Statements,” “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of Premier’s periodic and current filings with the SEC and available on Premier’s website at investors.premierinc.com. Forward looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Premier undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise that occur after that date. Adjusted EBITDA is a “non-GAAP financial measure” as defined in Regulation G under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Premier’s Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2015 provides an explanation and disclosure regarding our use of Adjusted EBITDA and should be read in conjunction with this release. Premier does not reconcile guidance for adjusted EBITDA because it does not provide guidance for reconciling items between net income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA. Premier is unable to provide guidance for these reconciling items since certain items that impact net income (loss) are outside of Premier’s control and cannot be reasonably predicted. Accordingly, a reconciliation to net income (loss) or GAAP earnings per share is not available without unreasonable effort.

CONTACT: Morgan Guthrie, Premier, Inc.; [email protected]; 704.816.4152