S/T Health Group Chosen as Contract Price Integrity Consultant for Premier Members.

Industry leaders in hospital pharmacy cost-containment to offer discounted services to alliance members.

HOUSTON -- S/T Health Group - a pioneer in the fast-growing hospital pharmacy cost-containment industry - has signed an agreement to provide discounted invoice price verification and recovery services for Premier Purchasing Partners members.

Premier is the nation's largest healthcare alliance in the United States, with 1,500 hospitals and more than 47,000 other healthcare sites as members. The 36-month agreement, effective Sept. 1, designates S/T Health Group as a preferred provider of invoice price verification services for Premier members.

Since 1998, S/T Health Group has helped hospitals and healthcare networks across the U.S. reduce pharmacy costs through its technology-driven data analysis, real-world pharmacy experience and hands-on consultative approach.

"The value we bring to the market lies in our understanding of the unique working relationship between pharma manufacturers, wholesalers and the hospitals and healthcare networks themselves," says Richard Tulio, president of S/T Health Group. "Analysis of purchasing, billing and utilization data is critical, but you also need to interpret and understand what the numbers are telling you. Our extensive pharma experience enables us to see disconnects others can't - and deliver maximum cost savings to our clients."

S/T Health Group was the first consulting group of its kind to focus on contract price integrity in healthcare. By combining the knowledge and expertise of professionals with experience in group purchasing, pharmacy management, wholesale distribution operations, healthcare purchasing management, managed care contracting and software development, S/T Health Group provides data-centered cost-containment solutions for hospital and healthcare operations.

"We're proud to be providing services to Premier Purchasing Partners' many members throughout the U.S.," said Tulio. "We're confident we can make a difference in their pharma costs and help improve their bottom lines."

About S/T Health Group

S/T Health Group is a privately held consulting company based in Houston, focusing on pharmaceutical cost-containment services for health care providers. S/T Health Group provides data analysis services that help hospitals contain or avoid costs in the pharmaceutical supply chain through price verification, contract compliance measurement and analysis of purchasing and utilization trends. For more information, please visit the company web site: http://www.sthealthgroup.com.

About Premier, 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient

Serving 1,500 hospitals and more than 47,000 other healthcare sites, Premier Inc. is the largest healthcare alliance in the United States dedicated to improving patient outcomes while safely reducing the cost of care. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier operates the nation's largest healthcare purchasing network, the most comprehensive repository of hospital clinical and financial information and one of the largest policy-holder owned, hospital professional liability risk-retention groups in healthcare. Headquartered in San Diego, Premier has offices in Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Washington. For more information, visit www.premierinc.com.