Premier Inc.'s Healthcare Gold

As the U.S. healthcare system moves away from a fee-for-service model, in an attempt to control the variable quality and high cost of care, hospitals will own an increasing share of the risks associated with patient care and re-admissions.

This added burden on our health service organizations, presents itself as a huge opportunity for anyone with access to robust data sets and the ability to prescribe meaningful action plans through proper data analysis. The push for big data is by no means new in the healthcare space, but it’s value has increased dramatically since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law in March 2010.

When trading in the commodity of raw healthcare data, one company may have access to more of this hot commodity than any other market player. Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) is one of the largest health system alliances in the U.S., with more than 2,900 community hospitals and 100,000 additional sites. Since its creation Premier has built a massive network, “maintain(s) clinical, financial and outcomes databases based on 1 in every 4 U.S. hospital discharges”, and successfully launched its IPO this past September.

With a market cap of approximately $4.3billion, and a share price oscillating around $31 according to MarketWatch, Premier Inc. is a healthcare company worth keeping an eye on. While it’s primary business has historically been its purchasing network, Premier also provides a number of performance services for its member organizations and has the potential to do a significant amount more.

Premier Inc. is sitting on what may be the largest accumulation of healthcare’s hottest data, with a continual stream of new figures coming in from its massive member network. While there is no way of knowing Premier Inc.'s future plans for this constantly replenishing asset, one thing is for sure, it's worth a fortune to just about anyone looking to capitalize on the changes taking place in healthcare. Does the word licensing come to mind?