October 16, 2020 – Premier Inc. (Charlotte, NC) announced a new, two-year, $8 million national partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Women’s Health to leverage Premier’s data and proven performance improvement methodology to scale advancements in care for mothers and infants across the nation.
Over the course of the partnership, Premier and the HHS Office of Women’s Health will leverage Premier’s data, which represents 45% of U.S. hospital discharges, to analyze the risk factors affecting maternal morbidity and mortality – such as rising maternal age, racial and ethnic disparities, socioeconomic factors and comorbidities.
In addition, HHS and Premier will unite a cohort of at least 200 hospitals to join Premier’s data-driven Perinatal Collaborative. Premier will implement standardized, evidence-based practices and care bundles with collaborative members, measuring outcomes to identify and scale the most effective practices.
The initiative with HHS will provide research on the correlation between a mother’s health risks and the ensuing effect on her baby – building on Premier’s decades of experience working with providers to reduce mortality, morbidity, harm and costs. Hospitals that have joined Premier’s previous perinatal efforts have decreased maternal deaths, harm and birth trauma by more than 20%; improved early elective deliveries by 67%; and decreased medical malpractice claims by 39%.