Premier's Newest SpendAdvisor Release Features Reports That Help Explain Changes...

Premier's Newest SpendAdvisor Release Features Reports That Help Explain Changes in Supply Costs

Tier Analyzer in Latest Version of Innovative Spend Analytics Tool
Helps Users Measure Contract Performance against Tier Requirements
CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(Business Wire)--
The newest version of the Premier healthcare alliance's widely
adopted SpendAdvisor spend management decision support tool can
identify and measure the drivers of supply cost, and a new tier
analyzer report will measure performance of all contracts against tier
requirements.

"It has been said that some things continue to get better with
age. This has definitely proven to be true with Premier's newest
MySpend release," said Norton Healthcare Contract Administrator
Rebecca L. Williams. Norton Healthcare is the Louisville area's
leading hospital and healthcare system including four large hospitals,
10 immediate care centers, and some 50 other service locations.

"With a few clicks of my mouse, I can now produce reports that get
to the heart of what is driving changes in Norton Healthcare's supply
chain," Williams continued. "What used to be a very tedious process to
determine if increased costs were being driven by purchasing volume,
product mix, or pricing can now be produced in a few minutes.

"The ability to, at a quick glance, look into a category of
products, down to the transaction level, is nothing short of amazing.
In my opinion," Williams said, "My Spend is the most user friendly
software available in the market today. The ability to run accurate
reports, with ease, has provided Norton with quick results. The
savings we achieved during the first month paid for the program and
continue to strengthen Norton's bottom line with each passing month.
MySpend is a must have for materials management."

Premier Group Vice President Marla Weigert said, "This release
represents a powerful mix of new functionality as well as improvements
to existing reports." Changes are based on member feedback as well as
advancements in Premier's data and technology supporting the
SpendAdvisor platform.

A new series of "Change in Supply Cost" reports provide a broad
view of major drivers of changes in total spend in a single facility
or across a group of facilities. The new version is already available
to users of SpendAdvisor.

Weigert said the version identifies root causes of supply chain
expenses by leading member users through an analysis that focuses on
changes that have the greatest bottom line impact. "With it, members
can analyze whether changes are the result of pricing, volume or
product mix, helping them not only understand recent and historical
changes and patterns but also target key adjustments that will result
in optimal savings."

The new release also includes improvements that strengthen the
SpendAdvisor tier qualification logic released in November. The
reports now provide additional information making them even more
actionable. A new view assesses contract performance measured against
tier requirements on any contract in the portfolio.

Additional improvements include UNSPSC classification codes and
descriptions added to the custom report builder module and new
benchmarking reports for products that haven't yet been purchased but
are being considered, as well as other report and usability
improvements.

More than 110 integrated delivery networks representing more than
630 facilities and approximately $8 billion in spend have installed or
committed to the MySpend module of SpendAdvisor. Hospitals and
healthcare systems using SpendAdvisor are experiencing better
contracts with savings of between 4 percent and 8 percent on average.

"One of Premier's primary roles is to bring cutting-edge
technology solutions to systemic problems that inhibit the efficient
and cost-effective delivery of healthcare to the communities our
members serve," Weigert said. "We will continue to enhance
SpendAdvisor and deliver on our promise to unlock the improvement
potential of our spend analytics tools for our members."

About Premier Inc., 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
recipient

Serving more than 2,000 U.S. hospitals and 53,000-plus other
healthcare sites, the Premier healthcare alliance and its members are
transforming healthcare together. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals,
Premier operates one of the leading healthcare purchasing networks and
the nation's most comprehensive repository of hospital clinical and
financial information. A subsidiary operates one of the nation's
largest policy-holder owned, hospital professional liability
risk-retention groups. A world leader in helping healthcare providers
deliver dramatic improvements in care, Premier is working with the
United Kingdom's National Health Service North West and the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services to improve hospital performance.
Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, N.C.,
Philadelphia and Washington. For more information, visit
www.premierinc.com.

Premier Inc.
Henry Bostic, 704-733-5695
henry_bostic@premierinc.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008