San Antonio was the place to be during the second week of June, for fans of basketball…and healthcare.
As the Spurs faced the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, more than 4,000 clinicians, administrators, healthcare experts and suppliers were at Premier healthcare alliance’s 2013 Breakthroughs Conference.
Premier Chief Operating Officer Mike Alkire emphasized the importance of teamwork in hoops and healthcare alike during his keynote speech. “As Michael Jordan was so fond of saying, ‘Talent wins games. Teamwork wins championships.’ We need to leverage our individual talents to pursue common goals. Healthcare providers: Your expertise, your core competency is providing top quality patient care. Manufacturers: You create innovations that lead to efficiencies, improved outcomes and a better quality of life. And Premier’s core competency is organizing these parts into a championship team.”
Education
The Conference featured multiple tracks, including:
- Continuum of care, for health systems and physician leaders interested in growth opportunities beyond the acute care setting.
- Eliminating harm. Topics covered included sepsis, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, fall prevention and infection prevention.
- Population health, for leaders interested in integrating care and reimbursement across the continuum.
- Lean strategies. Topics included Six Sigma tools to reduce
- costs, and using Lean to design a discharge-from-triage process.
- Outcomes research, including use of the Premier Research Services’ comparative database to conduct studies to promote improved clinical outcomes.
- Physician engagement. Topics included the correlation between physician engagement and quality; the Institute Model, designed to enhance collaboration with employed, leased and independent physicians; and leveraging physician focus in community and rural settings..
Innovation Celebration
For the fifth year in a row, Premier hosted its annual Innovation Celebration to recognize advances in healthcare that can improve patient outcomes and reduce waste. On display were 14 medical innovations, selected by a committee of clinicians and other Premier alliance members. Any supplier, regardless of whether the company is contracted with Premier, can be considered for participation.
Technologies cited for innovation were:
- DX System (implantable cardiac defibrillator), by BIOTRONIK.
- Kangaroo Zak ™ (to facilitate kangaroo care sessions in the NICU and post-partum), by Nurtured By Design.
- S-Monvette® (blood collection system), by Sarstedt.
- BLOXR (radiation protection products), by BLOXR.
- Ameritus First Pump (for enteral feedings in the NICU and PICU), by Kentec Medical.
- Biosentry Tract Sealant System (for use in percutaneous lung biopsies), by Angiotech.
- Thunderbeat (ultrasonic and advanced bipolar energies), by Olympus America Inc.
- ENDOEYE FLEX 5 (autoclavable 5mm HD articulating video-laparoscope), by Olympus America Inc.
- Electrocardiograph and WebECG management service, by Spaulding Clinical.
- NovaCath™ integrated IV catheter system, by Tangent Medical.
- KITCHECK (for pharmacy department inventory), by SKYTRON.
- BioFlo PICC, by AngioDynamics.
- UltraLase Wave Guide, by Laser Engineering Inc.
- CARDIOSAVE IABP (intra-aortic balloon pump), by MAQUET.
Awards
More than 200 hospitals, health systems and suppliers were recognized for their efforts to provide high-value care at low costs.
QUEST Award for High-value Healthcare. (Honors hospitals for achieving top performance in all six of the areas measured in Premier’s QUEST collaborative: reducing harm, mortality, readmissions and costs; improving the patient experience; and reliably delivering evidence-based care.)
- Catawba Valley Medical Center of Hickory, N.C.
- Memorial Hospital Miramar of Miramar, Fla.
- St. Clare Hospital of Baraboo, Wisc.
- Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Azle of Azle, Texas (for the second year in a row)
- University Hospitals Geneva Medical Center of Geneva, Ohio
In addition, 54 QUEST members were recognized for achieving top performance in five or four QUEST areas.
Supply Chain Performance, Innovation Awards.
- Fairview Health Services of Minneapolis and Henry Ford Health System of Detroit.
- In addition, 29 organizations were honored with the Supply Chain Excellence Award, given to hospitals with advanced supply expense performance as measured by Premier’s SupplyFocus® solution.
ASCEND Peak Performance Award (for exceptional supply chain performance)
- Alamance Regional Medical Center of Burlington, N.C.
- Commonwealth Health Corporation of Bowling Green, Ky.
- Presbyterian Healthcare Services of Albuquerque, N.M.
- Tanner Health System of Carrollton, Ga.
- TriHealth, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio
ASCEND hospitals reduce costs through simplified and consistent purchasing processes, appropriate clinical utilization and specially negotiated contracts, according to Premier. The 400 ASCEND hospitals represent $9.2 billion in supply chain purchasing volume and more than 65,000 hospital beds. Participants benefit from 126 suppliers and 226 contracts. To date, more than $150 million in savings has been identified across the collaborative.
For the first time, seven suppliers received an ASCEND award for helping collaborative members lower costs, as well as for exemplary customer service and clinical excellence:
- Atrium Medical Corporation of Hudson, N.H.
- Compression Therapy Concepts of Eatontown, N.J.
- Draeger Medical Inc. of Telford, Pa.
- Procter & Gamble of Cincinnati, Ohio
- Medline Industries Inc. of Mundelein, Ill.
- Standard Textile Company Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Diversity Award (Recognizes a Premier member hospital or health system and a contracted supplier for purchasing goods and services from diverse suppliers, and developing procurement strategies aligned with their communities.)
- Carolinas HealthCare System of Charlotte, N.C.
- American Medical Depot of Miramar, Fla.
Premier also recognized Cincinnati-based TriHealth and Owens & Minor Inc. of Mechanicsville, Va. (recognized for the third year in a row) for their programs to support supplier diversity
Legacy Award
Eighteen suppliers received the first annual Legacy Award for supporting alliance members through their Premier partnership, local customer service and engagement, value creation through clinical excellence, and commitment to lower costs.