Alegent Health Improves Quality of Care, Reimbursement Accuracy with DRG Assurance(TM) from 3M Health Information Systems and Premier; Solution Focuses on Accuracy and Integrity of Inpatient Data.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Alegent Health will implement 3M's proprietary DRG Assurance(TM) documentation improvement solution in five of its Omaha, Neb.-area hospitals in conjunction with Premier's Clinical Advisor(TM) product, which provides reporting and benchmarking analyses against the nation's largest clinical comparative database.

Premier and 3M Health Information Systems will provide Alegent Health with the coordinated delivery of their complementary consulting, assessment and documentation improvement product and service offerings, made possible by the strategic agreement that 3M and Premier announced in February 2003.

Alegent is one of approximately 270 hospitals and healthcare systems around the country taking part in the CMS/Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID). The three-year program, a joint venture between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Premier, is designed to determine if financial incentives are effective at improving the quality of inpatient care.

DRG Assurance implementation will take place in two phases, with the first phase targeting the five clinical focus areas included in the HQID. These five focus areas include acute myocardial infarction (AMI), coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), heart failure, pneumonia, and hip and knee replacement surgery. All other focus areas will be addressed in phase two.

"Alegent Health's commitment to the HQID makes it absolutely essential for our patient records to be coded accurately," says Kathryn Koehler, RN, MSN, MBA, Alegent's performance improvement executive. "3M's DRG Assurance product will help our physicians and clinical documentation specialists supply the appropriate information and use the coding language required for accurate DRG assignments."

3M's DRG Assurance program is designed to improve concurrent inpatient record documentation through a comprehensive program of consulting, auditing and training services. Using a coordinated, systematic process of concurrent record review, the program fosters enhanced communication between physicians, case managers, UR/QM staff and health information management professionals.

"The depth and breadth of Premier's comparative database, combined with 3M's expertise in coding and classification, allows us to address the root causes of coding and documentation inconsistencies," says Kelly Mann, national marketing director for 3M Health Information Systems. "We're very pleased to be working with Premier to provide this comprehensive clinical benchmarking and assessment program to Alegent Health."

Premier is the recognized leader in helping hospitals improve healthcare quality and clinical outcomes while at the same time lowering costs. 3M Health Information Systems' DRG Assurance is provided in conjunction with Premier's Clinical Advisor (TM) product, which provides reporting and benchmarking analyses against the nation's largest clinical comparative database. Its primary objective is to improve physician documentation for accurate patient classification by DRG, better reflecting patient severity of illness indicators and risk of mortality variances, resource consumption, reimbursement accuracy and patient conditions for care planning and outcome studies.

"Alegent Health is a recognized leader in providing high quality healthcare," says Stephanie Alexander, senior vice president and general manager for Premier Healthcare Informatics. "We're proud to support Alegent's commitment to clinical excellence with assessment and documentation improvement services."

About Alegent Health

Alegent Health is a not-for-profit, integrated, faith-based healthcare system created by the consolidation of Bergan Mercy Health System and Immanuel Health System in 1996. The system's goal is to become the preferred network in the region and the employer of choice for those working in healthcare. Alegent Health is a leader in providing primary care, cardiovascular services, orthopedics, women's and children's services, oncology, physical rehabilitation, behavioral services, senior health and more. For six years, Alegent Health has been named one of Modern Healthcare's Top 100 integrated healthcare systems. The system has also won the prestigious Premier Award for Quality in the area of total joint replacement of the hip and knee for the past two years.

About 3M

3M is a diversified technology company with 2004 sales of more than $20 billion worldwide. 3M Health Care, the largest of seven major 3M businesses, is dedicated to improving the practice, delivery and outcome of care in medical, dental, pharmaceutical, health information and personal care markets. 3M Health Information Systems, part of the 3M Health Care family, is a leading provider of advanced software tools and services that help health care organizations capture, classify and manage accurate health care data. More information about 3M Health Information Systems is available at www.3Mhis.com, and by calling 800-367-2447. DRG Assurance is a registered trademark of the 3M Company.

About Premier Healthcare Informatics

Premier Healthcare Informatics offers performance measurement, benchmarking, and reporting products and related advisory services and methodologies to support health systems' and hospitals' quality improvement efforts. Among its products and services, Premier Healthcare Informatics offers the Advisor Suite(TM) of clinical and operational performance measurement and reporting solutions; best practice methodologies to directly implement quality improvement programs; project-specific guidance; and on-site expertise to support improvement of clinical outcomes and efficiency of care. Areas of expertise include JCAHO and CMS performance measurement, clinical and operational benchmarking, labor management programs, balanced scorecards, patient satisfaction, evidence-based research, and patient safety. Premier Healthcare Informatics is part of Premier, Inc., a strategic healthcare alliance that provides an array of performance solutions to hospitals and other providers. For more information about Premier Healthcare Informatics, visit www.premierinc.com/informatics or call [phone].