Premier, Inc.

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
2006 Award Recipient, Service

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Highest-Ranking Official*
Richard Norling
President and CEO

Public Affairs Contact

*At time of award

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For more information
Premier, Inc.
Public Affairs
444 North Capitol St., NW, Suite 625
Washington, DC
(202) 879-8009
http://www.premierinc.com

Premier, Inc., is a healthcare strategic alliance entirely owned by not-for-profit hospitals and health system organizations. The 200 owners operate or are affiliated with more than 1,500 hospitals and thousands of non-hospital sites such as nursing homes and ambulatory centers. Owners participate to share needed services and programs aimed at improving clinical quality and cost-effectiveness. Premier's three business units provide the following services: group purchasing and supply chain management, insurance and risk management, and informatics and performance improvement. Premier systematically strives to achieve its "Big Hairy Audacious Goal": Premier's Owners will be the leading healthcare systems in their markets, and with them, Premier will be a major influence in reshaping healthcare.

Revenues: $500 million

Workforce: 932 employees

Locations: San Diego, California; Charlotte, North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; Field staff located across the United States

Highlights /*-->*/

• From 2002 to 2006, consolidated pre-tax operating income increased from approximately $140 million to approximately $223 million in 2006, exceeding or equaling that of Premier's largest single competitor. Operating margin percentage increased from 35% in 2003 to 50% in 2006 and exceeded that of Premier's largest single competitor in all years. In addition, operating expenses have remained well below those of Premier's top competitor.
• Savings and cash returns to Premier's hospital owners have increased from approximately $180 million in 2002 to $804 million in 2006.
• As an indirect measure of customer-perceived value, retention of hospital members has remained strong and increased from 94% in 2002 to approximately 97% in 2006.
• Premier has taken a leadership role in promoting best practices in ethical conduct, transparency, and accountability within its industry and created the Healthcare Group Purchasing Industry Initiative to promote and monitor best ethical practices in purchasing for hospitals and other health care providers.
• Premier utilizes systematic approaches to focus on the career development of employees, including the Ph.D. Program, The Leadership College, and tuition reimbursement. Results demonstrate that these efforts are paying off: The percent of vacancies filled internally improved from 20% in 2003 to 32% in 2006, and has exceeded the Watson Wyatt and Saratoga (two national survey groups) best practice benchmarks of 22% for the past 3 years.
• Premier's Informatics Business Unit market share, as measured by number of clients, exceeds its nearest competitor by more than two-fold, making it the largest provider in the nation for comparison data for hospitals and related organizations.

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