Premier Awarded CMS Contract to Continue Work in Improving Patient Safety, Reducing Readmissions

Premier, Inc.

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.