Premier to Incorporate Medical Evidence From Zynx Health Into Clinical Information Systems to Improve Patient Safety

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 11, 2004 -- Premier Healthcare Informatics, the leading supplier of clinical performance measurement and reporting services, and Zynx Health, the leading supplier of evidence-based medicine content, have signed an agreement toward improving patient safety through clinical information systems and computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems in hospitals.

Under the agreement, Premier will integrate Zynx Health's Executable Knowledge Manager(TM) (EKM(TM)) into the Safety Advisor(TM) solution. Safety Advisor brings medical evidence to the point of care through evidence-based clinical reports and advisory services that help hospitals and physicians develop order sets and clinical guidelines. As hospitals move to CPOE, Safety Advisor content can be delivered across multiple CPOE platforms and can improve clinical acceptance and accelerate "go live" of CPOE.

Zynx' EKM is an Internet-based solution that contains standardized order sets and rules, and the clinical evidence upon which the order sets and rules are established. At present, EKM comprises nearly 80 conditions from acute myocardial infarction to ventilator management for pediatric ICUs which account for over 80 percent of inpatient volume.

"Because we share hospitals' concern for high quality care, we believe that the partnership between Premier and Zynx Health delivers unique value," said Mark Edelstein, vice president for business development, Premier Healthcare Informatics. "Hospitals using CPOE as part of the care process will have a distinct advantage in managing patient safety. Those leveraging the value of Safety Advisor and EKM will amplify their capabilities and achieve a greater return on the investment made in the technology."

The relationship between Premier and Zynx offers hospitals an opportunity to optimize their CPOE investment by focusing on key clinical conditions and providing evidence-supported insights on best practices.

"The expansion of the Zynx Health and Premier partnership to incorporate the Executable Knowledge Manager means that more clinicians will have point- of-care access to evidence-based clinical information to improve quality and efficiency of care," said Gregory Dorn, MD, General Manager of Zynx Health.

Zynx' EKM focuses on the key drivers of quality and cost in both inpatient and ambulatory settings. The clinical conditions have been chosen because they represent important high-cost, high-volume areas in most institutions across the nation.

Premier and Zynx Health have collaborated since 2001 to offer services and products that support improvements in healthcare quality. Early in the relationship, Zynx Health established a relationship with the Healthcare Informatics division to provide evidence-based content to users of Premier's Perspective clinical measurement and benchmarking system. In 2002, Premier and Zynx Health worked with The Leapfrog Group to explore additional safety measures for six complex treatments.

Safety Advisor is part of Premier's Advisor Suite of measurement and reporting solutions for hospitals -- Clinical Advisor powered by the Perspective(TM) database; Operations Advisor; Perception Advisor; Safety Advisor and Advisor View -- a quality scorecard that integrates metrics from each of the other solutions. Each component of the suite includes access to Premier's unrivaled databases, along with education, the identification of performance improvement opportunities and ongoing support.

About Premier Healthcare Informatics

Premier Healthcare Informatics offers comparative data and related advisory services to support hospitals' quality improvement efforts. Among its products and services, Premier Healthcare Informatics offers Web-based clinical and operational databases, project-specific guidance, and on-site expertise to support improvement of clinical outcomes and efficiency of care. Areas of expertise include patient satisfaction, JCAHO and CMS performance measurement, departmental productivity improvement, balanced scorecards, evidence-based research, and other business intelligence. 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 http://www.premierinc.com/informatics or call 800.805.4608.

About Zynx Health

Zynx Health is the leading developer of healthcare information technology solutions that adhere to evidence-based medicine (EBM) methodologies. Zynx provides EBM research and tools to help healthcare organizations -- including more than 500 hospitals nationwide -- face the challenges of financial and regulatory pressures, and demonstrate organizational leadership in delivering quality medical services in a cost-effective manner. Zynx also provides content to organizations enrolled in "Pay-for-Performance" incentive programs, including the CMS-Premier demonstration project.

Zynx has developed a suite of evidence-based products designed to improve the quality of healthcare, lower the cost of patient care and reduce medical errors-thus enhancing patient safety. Zynx solutions have been proven to work in "real-world" settings, and to be customizable at the local level (e.g., health system, community hospital). For more information about Zynx Health, visit http://www.zynxhealth.com or call 310.247.7700.

SOURCE Premier Healthcare Informatics

Web Site: http://www.premierinc.com/informatics

http://www.zynxhealth.com