Keep in mind the personal nature of healthcare, Premier President and CEO Susan DeVore asked more than 4,000 attendees at Premier Inc.’s Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio this summer.
DeVore told attendees that she has a sign outside her office with four words: “Care is a verb.” “That says a lot about the future of healthcare,” she said. “No more saying, ‘That’s not our business, because when it comes to the future of care, it is our business, and it is personal. It’s personal to us as providers of care, because we have a stake in building the best possible healthcare industry; and it’s personal to our patients, because their health and lives depend on it.
Premier COO Mike Alkire spoke about the power of connected data to guide healthcare providers’ actions and improve care. “At Premier, we have three stars that light the way forward – total cost management, quality and safety, and population health,” he said. Integrated data allows Premier and its members to ask the best questions about the care they’re providing, and then figure out the best possible solutions. It also helps providers eliminate unjustified variation and improve quality of care, and helps hospitals focus all their energies on patient care.
Keynote speakers at the conference included David Axelrod, who served as senior advisor to President Barack Obama and who is director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago; Nicholas Christakis, MD, Ph.D., professor at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, and co-author of Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks; Dr. J.P. Pawliw-Fry, leadership and performance expert; John Kao, chairman of the Institute for Large Scale Innovation and CEO and founder of Edgemakers, Inc.; Jon Huntsman, former governor of Utah and former U.S. ambassador to Singapore and later, to China; and Nancy Snyderman, MD, chief medical editor for NBC News.
Educational sessions were presented in several tracks, including: continuum of care, evolving pharmacy solutions, ambulatory surgery, foodservice, data, hospital-acquired conditions, improving clinical outcomes, population health, management strategies, outcomes research, physician engagement, patient experience, reducing readmissions, risk management, safety and environment, supply chain, and value analysis.
Innovation Celebration
Sixteen medical innovations were showcased during Premier’s sixth annual Innovation Celebration, designed to recognize industry suppliers committed to innovation and their advances to improve patient outcomes and efficiencies. Innovations were selected by a committee of healthcare clinicians and other Premier hospital members. 2014 Innovation Celebration participants were:
- Allergan Inc.: SERI® Surgical Scaffold.
- Boston Scientific: S-ICD™ System.
- Careborne: Hope Crutch.
- Daya Medicals, Inc.: The MedPod.
- Endochoice: Fuse™ Endoscopy System.
- GE Healthcare: Critikon RADIAL-CUF.
- GE Healthcare: Silent Scan.
- Hologic: Affirm™ 3D-guided breast biopsy.
- Hologic: C-View™ software option.
- Kentec Medical, Inc./Ameritus Medical Products: Hummi Micro-Draw Blood Transfer Device.
- Medtronic: Reveal™ LINQ Insertable Cardiac Monitoring System.
- Olympus America: ENDOEYE FLEX 3D.
- Sizewise: Pediatric Pulse.
- SuperSonic Imagine: Aixplorer®.
- Teleflex: ISO-Gard® Mask with ClearAir™ Technology.
- Universal Hospital Services, Inc.: OnCare™ VitalGo Total Lift Bed™.
Any supplier, regardless of whether the company is contracted with Premier, can be considered for participation in the Innovation Celebration.
Premier award-winners
Supply Chain Excellence Award:
- Baptist Health South Florida
- Bon Secours Community Hospital
- Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital
- Carilion Giles Community Hospital
- Carilion Tazewell Community Hospital
- Catholic Health Partners
- Central Maine Healthcare
- Corona Regional Medical Center
- DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital
- Edinburg Regional Medical Center
- Hampshire Memorial Hospital
- Henry Ford Health System
- Henry Ford Macomb Hospitals
- Maryvale Hospital
- McLaren Flint
- McLaren Health Care
- Mercy St. Charles Hospital
- Methodist Hospitals, Gary and Merrillville
- MetroWest Medical Center
- Page Hospital
- Richmond University Medical Center
- Riverside Health System
- Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center
- Samaritan Medical Center
- St. Clare Hospital
- St. Francis Medical Center
- Takoma Regional Hospital
- Tanner Health System
- Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Azle
- War Memorial Hospital
Supply Chain Excellence Award – most improved category
- Aurora Sinai Medical Center
- Mercy Tiffin Hospital
- Ogallala Community Hospital
- Tanner Medical Center
- West Jefferson Medical Center
Supply Chain Innovation Award
- Adventist Health System
- Aurora Health Care
- Banner Health
- Geisinger Health System
Supply Chain Innovation Award honorable mentions
- Banner Health
- Commonwealth Health Corporation
- North Oaks Health System
- Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center
- Summa Health System
- West Virginia United Health System
Supplier awards
For the second year, Premier’s Supplier Legacy Award was granted to 13 long-standing contracted suppliers that support Premier members through exceptional local customer service and engagement, value creation through clinical excellence and commitment to lower costs. And, for the first time, Premier recognized contracted suppliers with less tenure with the Supplier Horizon Award for displaying the same qualities as Legacy Award recipients.
Supplier Horizon Award
- Facilities: Forbo Flooring Systems
- Foodservice: Barilla America, Inc.
- Materials Management: Midmark Corporation
- Nursing: AngioDynamics
- Pediatrics: DeRoyal Industries, Inc.
- Pharmacy: Halozyme Therapeutics
- Purchased Services: Cintas Corporation
- Surgical Services: LifeNet Health
Supplier Legacy Award
- Cardiovascular: Medtronic, Inc.
- Facilities: Herman Miller Healthcare
- Foodservice: Diamond Crystal Sales, LLC
- Imaging/Radiology Oncology: Konica Minolta Medical Imaging USA, Inc.
- Information Technology: Agfa HealthCare
- Laboratory: Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics
- Materials Management: Stryker
- Materials Management/Distribution: Owens & Minor, Inc.
- Nursing: Kimberly-Clark Health Care
- Pediatrics: ARJOHUNTLEIGH
- Pharmacy: FFF Enterprises, Inc., Heritage Pharmaceuticals Inc.
- Surgical Services: Kimberly-Clark Health Care
Supplier Diversity Award
- Zones Inc.
Supplier Diversity Award honorable mention
- LSL Industries, Inc.