Healthcare Industry News: Essential Medical
News Release - November 30, 2015
New Distribution Agreement Between Medline and Avamere Health Services Focuses on Readmissions Prevention and Clinical Education
Avamere’s entities will have access to programs like abaqis and Medline University to help enhance clinical outcomesMUNDELEIN, Ill.--(Healthcare Sales & Marketing Network)--Avamere Health Services, which provides a range of services to seniors in over 40 independent living, assisted living, transitional care and skilled nursing facilities throughout four states, has awarded a three-year, $12 million prime vendor agreement to Medline, a global medical supplier that services the continuum of care.
The exclusive distribution partnership is expected to provide Avamere’s entities with an extensive portfolio of Essential Medical supplies that will better position the system to streamline supply chain operations. Beyond product savings and efficiencies in supply chain, Medline will also help enhance Avamere’s readmission prevention strategies and provide continuing education courses to help clinicians perform at their very best.
Recent data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) suggests that nearly 2,700 hospitals will be penalized for hospitals readmissions in fiscal 2016. Through this prime vendor deal, Avamere will receive negotiated pricing on Medline’s abaqis readmission tracking tool. The web-based quality assurance tool helps nursing homes identify the root cause for readmissions by analyzing patterns of readmissions within a facility, such as identifying the hospital a resident was admitted from; the day, time and shift when the readmission occurred, physician coverage during the time of patient transfer, and the reason for the transfer. Throughout the country, more than 3,000 facilities are using abaqis.
“With more than 100 years of supply chain experience, Medline is in a unique position to offer customers like Avamere leading-edge solutions to help them achieve their clinical and financial goals,” said Matt Van Zelst, vice president of national accounts for post-acute care, Medline. “Our partnership is about more than just shipping boxes of supplies. It’s about working one-on-one with Avamere to provide clinical solutions for the issues that matter most to the growth of their company."
Furthermore, as ongoing education is a clear priority for healthcare workers, Medline will provide Avamere staff with ongoing education opportunities to help ensure caregivers are providing the highest quality of care to patients. Avamere’s clinicians will take online courses through Medline University. Approaching its 10 year anniversary in 2016, Medline University offers over 250 courses used by more than 700,000 registered users from nurses, healthcare assistants, dieticians, nursing home administrators, and leadership, to patients and families. In all, healthcare professionals take some 40,000 online courses monthly through Medline University.
“The educational tools Medline brings to the table to help our staff stay informed on industry trends and sharpen their skills is invaluable,” said Kelsey Selander, purchasing manager at Avamere. “The partnership will offer our facilities the opportunity to benefit from Medline’s strong purchasing power, allowing us to enhance the quality of care we provide to the communities we serve.”
The contract is effective through December 31, 2018.
Learn more about Medline’s prime vendor program at https://www.medline.com/supply-solutions/hospital-idn/prime-vendor-program-review/.
About Medline
Medline is a global manufacturer and distributor serving the healthcare industry with medical supplies and clinical solutions that help customers achieve both clinical and financial success. Headquartered in Mundelein, Ill., the company offers 350,000+ medical devices and support services through more than 1,200 direct sales representatives who are dedicated points of contact for customers across the continuum of care. For more information on Medline, go to www.medline.com or http://www.medline.com/social-media to connect with Medline on its social media channels.
Source: Medline
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