Premier Inc. has announced McLaren Health Care, a fully integrated health network serving Michigan and Indiana, the winner of the 2019 Richard A. Norling Premier Alliance Excellence Award. McLaren accepted the Premier Alliance Excellence Award on June 19, 2019 in front of more than 4,000 peers during an awards ceremony held at Premier’s annual Breakthroughs Conference.
McLaren’s system includes 14 hospitals; a 490-member physician network; commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering more than 550,000 lives; a range of ambulatory surgery, imaging, home health and hospice centers and services; and the state’s largest cancer care network. Premier says it presented the annual award to McLaren for exemplifying the highest level of industry innovation and advancements in delivering high-quality, cost-effective care.
McLaren was selected from Premier’s nationwide alliance of more than 4,000 U.S. hospitals and 165,000 other providers and organizations. The health system works in partnership with Premier on its business intelligence, clinical integration and growth strategy to deliver exceptional care to its communities. In doing so, the system has reversed the concept of the hospital to become less of a place one goes for care and more a portfolio of skills that come to the patient. Approximately 60 percent of its care is for outpatient services and 45 percent of its total net revenues are provided through its health insurance business.
“A powerful network of more than 350 integrated healthcare facilities, McLaren is an industry leader that seizes the opportunities others hesitate to tackle,” said Susan DeVore, CEO of Premier, in the statement. “Their deep commitment to delivering exceptional care has allowed them to transform the uncertainty of disruption into a powerful strategic tool. Premier’s 32-year partnership with McLaren is equally valued and we are honored to recognize them with the 2019 Premier Alliance Excellence Award.”
Over the next 36 months, McLaren will invest more than $800 million of new construction, additions and renovation projects. Additionally, the system has invested heavily in bringing research benefits to its communities, reconfiguring its various research programs into a central McLaren Center for Research and Innovation.
“Every employee at McLaren works passionately and tirelessly to ensure the patients and communities we serve are our number one priority,” said Philip A. Incarnati, President and CEO of McLaren in the statement. “Our experience, desire to embrace the future and ability to succeed has allowed us to generate new concepts that are focused on doing what is best for every patient, every day. This award is a true testament to the steps McLaren has taken to achieve meaningful integration through innovation as one organic health system.”
Premier says its partnership with McLaren’s supply chain helps it to achieve a year-over-year savings of approximately $10 million in part by leveraging Premier’s enterprise analytics platform to monitor and improve network utilization, reduce total cost of care for its beneficiaries, identify service line performance improvements, and automate and enhance its patient quality and safety dashboard. In doing so, the system has expanded telemedicine services to bring advanced treatments and personal consultations to its hospitals that are based in smaller communities, and sometimes right into patient homes.
