CHARLOTTE, NC – The Premier healthcare alliance today announced that its Continuum of Care (CofC) division added 9,500 of its more than 61,000 non-acute care members during its fiscal year 2009. The new members represent $1 billion of Premier’s CofC $5.3 billion annual supply purchasing spend.
The CofC is comprised of non-acute care sites, including long-term care, surgery centers, physician practices, senior living residences, imaging centers, home care facilities and numerous other market segments across the continuum of care.
According to Jim Oliver, CEO of the Yankee Alliance, “Premier recognizes the growing emphasis in the healthcare marketplace on the full episode of care, from preventive to acute to post-acute, which is why Yankee Alliance, with our membership base of over 7,000, partners with Premier’s Continuum of Care program to reduce cost and improve quality across the full continuum of care.”
Since 2004, Premier’s CofC, which represents the largest non-acute care market of any group purchasing organization, has added more than 30,000 members with annual sales volumes increasing by 80 percent. Premier CofC members realize the value of Premier’s industry-leading contract portfolio, including foodservice, medical-surgical, capital equipment, housekeeping, lab, imaging and facilities agreements.
As of 2006, more than 37 million Americans were 65 years of age or older. This population is predicted to increase to 40 million in 2010 and then to 55 million in 2020.
“It is clear that healthcare will need to continue to spread outside of the four walls of the hospital in order to accommodate the growing need for care,” said Premier Purchasing Partners President Mike Alkire. “Fueled by an aging population and reimbursement constraints in hospitals, the continuum of care market is one of the fastest growing areas of the healthcare industry today. As technology improves and procedures move out of hospital settings into outpatient settings, the need for these facilities to reduce costs has continued to increase dramatically.”
