PeaceHealth addressing national drug shortages through Premier’s ProvideGx program

PeaceHealth has partnered with Premier Inc. to leverage its ProvideGx™ program to ensure that physicians and patients have access to drugs that would otherwise be in short supply. As part of the effort, PeaceHealth will work through ProvideGx to source safe, high-quality drugs on the national drug shortage list, as well as those in categories that lack competition.

PeaceHealth is taking a leading role as one of 20 participating members on ProvideGx’s planning committee, which represents over 1,000 Premier member hospitals nationwide.

Some quick facts to consider related to chronic drug shortages:

• New drug shortages are rising – up 27% in 2018, according to an analysis by STAT.
• Shortages are more persistent and deeply impact care delivery – more than two-thirds of historical volumes of drugs are unavailable, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• Shortages are lasting too long – more than eight years in some instances – and drugs can cost twice as much when in shortage status, according to a recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Leveraging and guiding ProvideGx is the next step in PeaceHealth’s ongoing effort with Premier to reliably source more than 250 high-quality products, including more than 100 shortage drugs by National Drug Code (NDC).

“PeaceHealth is pleased to partner with Premier and leverage ProvideGx to ensure our communities have affordable, convenient access to the medications they need when they need them,” said Eddie Sharp, PeaceHealth’s system vice president of supply chain. “By providing a reliable and economical source of medications in short supply, the partnership directly supports our Mission to provide high quality, compassionate care and improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve.”

Premier has been at the forefront of combating drug shortages for years, working on behalf of its members to mitigate drug shortages and create new strategies for greater access. The ProvideGx program has directly led to the reliable supply of eight critical shortage drugs in 2019 alone. Premier recently parterned with Baxter, Exela Pharma Sciences and Fresenius Kabi to supply multiple lifesaving medications, including sodium bicarbonate injection, metoprolol, cystine hydrochloride, diphenhydramine, hydromorphone, lidocaine, morphine and thiamine. Premier plans to introduce additional drugs from a target list of more than 60 products in the coming months through ProvideGx.

“Premier is committed to aggregating the demand for products and creating a predictable channel for our member hospitals and health systems to access the drugs they need to improve the health of communities,” said Michael J. Alkire, president of Premier. “PeaceHealth should be commended for their progressive work to tackle this problem, together with Premier. We look forward to continuing our work with PeaceHealth to ensure their patients and clinicians have affordable access to shortage medications, as well as others they need to provide high quality care.”

About PeaceHealth
PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a group practice with more than 1,200 providers and 10 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. 

About ProvideGx
Guided by more than 1,000 hospitals across the nation, the ProvideGx program identifies safe, high-quality supply sources for drugs that are or may be at risk of being added to the national drug shortage list. Through ProvideGx, Premier is investing in innovative new business models and partnerships to address drug shortages, including partnering with quality generic drug manufacturers that can supply shortage products, co-funding the development of affordable products that address specific market needs, and securing contracts for active pharmaceutical ingredients to ensure a continuous supply as well as strategic sourcing agreements.

About Premier Inc.
Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of more than 4,000 U.S. hospitals and health systems and approximately 175,000 other providers and organizations to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and consulting and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare. Please visit Premier’s news and investor sites on www.premierinc.com; as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Premier’s blog for more information about the company.