In the current environment, hospitals and health system pharmacy leaders are facing increasing pressure on margins, ongoing drug shortages, workforce challenges and regulatory burdens. Today and into the future, providers and pharmacy leaders require new, innovative operating models, innovative technology, and greater resiliency to deliver better, safer care at an affordable price. This is where Premier—a leading healthcare improvement company is making a difference for its provider members.

To address the root causes of drug shortages, Premier members are leveraging commitment-driven “buyers’ club” models, giving manufacturers proper demand signaling, predictable revenue and the surety needed to bolster production or enter new markets. The company’s industry leading, comprehensive drug shortage program, ProvideGx was created to expand strategic relationships with select pharmaceutical manufacturers to increase market competition, stabilize the pharmaceutical supply chain, help alleviate drug shortages, reduce waste and mitigate irrational pricing. ProvideGx, uses long-term contracts to establish both consensus demand forecasting as well as minimum requirements on manufacturers to retain an average of three to six months of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and finished dose products. “ProvideGx has helped resolve 14 drug shortages since 2020, resulting in their official delisting from the FDA shortage list at this time. In fact, since 2012, more than one-quarter of SKUs in shortage were brought to market by Premier’s programs. Our approach has also focused on bringing domestic manufacturers to market, including Premier and member investments in VGYAAN Pharmaceuticals and Exela Pharma Sciences,” adds Jessica Daley, Chief Pharmacy Officer and Group Vice President of Supply Chain at Premier.

Premier and its members work together to identify and prioritize critical at-risk drugs. And together, they’re incentivizing manufacturers to increase supply, invest in redundancies, enter or re-enter markets, and explore new therapeutic categories for innovation. Furthermore, Premier leveraged the contracting process to bring an additional 29 generic injectables suppliers to the market since 2012, creating additional supply and much-needed competition in these categories. 

Premier has long taken a comprehensive approach to contracting, including evaluating quality records, regulatory histories, diversity of supply sources, fill rates, manufacturing capabilities, communications transparency, and product attributes.  

In addition, Premier taps its PINC AI™ technology platform to immediately identify savings opportunities and create a roadmap for how providers can realize opportunities, from pharmaceutical supply chain initiatives to clinical solutions. “Anytime we can create savings and efficiencies that brings value. Helping our members lower the cost of care and provide high-quality care to the people in the communities they serve supports our collective calling and mission,” explains Daley.

Premier also continues to create innovative solutions that can extend and improve the efficiency of scarce resources with labor benchmarking tools to identify bottlenecks; consulting services to optimize workflows; clinical decision support and the automation of administrative tasks such as documentation and coding and prior authorizations; and back-office technologies that can automate and optimize purchasing. Premier experts and member health systems continuously collaborate to share intelligence, including product mitigation efforts and conservation strategies, and pharmacy best practices via Premier’s Clinical Pharmacy Roundtable and other key touch points and collaboratives.

Additionally, the Washington D.C.-based arm of the Premier healthcare alliance serves as a powerful voice for the company’s members in advocating for national policy to improve healthcare quality and cost effectiveness, including addressing drug shortages and elevating issues that impact the pharmacy space. This included playing a leadership role in working with healthcare organizations, federal agencies and lawmakers to pass the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to mitigate drug and device shortages necessary for patient care during the pandemic. And in all, Premier helped to secured more than 50 regulatory and legislative changes to support and enable providers’ COVID-19 response. 

For nearly two decades, Premier’s industry-leading pharmacy programs and solutions are enabling healthcare providers to both address today’s challenges – and drive long-term innovation and value. With a strong contract portfolio, industry-leading drug shortage programs, and clinician and pharmacist-backed teams supported by technology and insights, Premier today enables providers access to a consistent supply of vital products – while generating efficiencies, savings and supporting strong patient outcomes. “I’m proud to say that Premier and our members are leading the way. Together, we’ll continue to co-develop solutions that enable pharmacy leaders – and healthcare providers – to deliver on their mission of providing the highest-quality care at a better cost. In collaboration with suppliers, wholesalers, government leaders and our members, Premier has made a meaningful difference in the market, and we’re going to continue to innovate and build on this progress,” concludes Daley.