Premier Inc. to Present at National Events in October.

Discussions Include Recent Release of Evidence That Improving Patient Care Can Reduce Costs, Save Lives

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Leaders from the Premier Inc. healthcare alliance will speak at conferences around the nation in October, with several presentations focusing on Premier's recent release of evidence that improving patient care can reduce costs and save lives.

Events at which Premier's leaders are speaking include:

* West Virginia Medical Institute (WVMI); Saturday, October 7; www.wvmi.org.

* Cerner Health Conference; Monday, October 9; Orlando, FL; http://www.cerner.com/public.

* Blue Cross/Blue Shield Bi-Annual Meeting; Monday, October 9; Chicago, IL; www.ama-assn.org.

* Cleveland Clinic National Quality Week; Wednesday, October 18; Cleveland, OH; www.clevelandclinic.org.

* AORN Management, Leadership and Education Conference; Saturday, October 28; Philadelphia, PA; www.aorn.org/events/optimize/.

According to Premier's analysis, if all pneumonia, heart bypass, heart attack (acute myocardial infarction), and hip and knee replacement patients nationally received most or all of a set of widely accepted care processes in 2003, it could have resulted in nearly 5,652 fewer deaths; 6,000 fewer complications; 10,000 fewer readmissions; and 1 million fewer days in the hospital. In addition, hospital costs could have been as much as $1.4 billion lower.

Premier will host a free webcast regarding this analysis on Thursday, October 5, from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern, featuring representatives from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). To register, please visit http://www.premierinc.com/p4p/.

The analysis is based on data from Premier's Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID) pay-for-performance demonstration project with CMS. Through that project, Premier collects a set of 33 quality indicators from more than 250 hospitals across the country. Using clinical quality measure data that has been audited and validated by CMS, Premier undertook additional analysis using the detailed cost and clinical data available in Premier's Perspective[TM] database, the most comprehensive clinical, financial and operational comparative database in the nation.

About Premier Inc.

Premier, Inc., helps hospitals accelerate performance on both clinical outcomes and supply chain costs. Premier is a healthcare alliance entirely owned by more than 200 of the nation's leading not-for-profit hospitals and healthcare systems. These organizations operate or are affiliated more than 1,500 hospitals and more than 42,000 other healthcare sites. Premier Purchasing Partners provides an array of services supporting health services delivery including group purchasing totaling $27 billion annually in supplies and equipment purchasing, as well as supply chain and clinical performance improvement services. Premier Healthcare Informatics offers performance measurement, benchmarking, and reporting products and advisory services supporting quality improvement. Premier Insurance Management Services helps hospitals manage insurance costs and improve risk management and claims capabilities. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Premier has offices in Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.premierinc.com.