A new mobile app from Premier Inc. offers healthcare providers instant access to product pricing on purchasing contracts of all types.

[See also: Premier develops industry IT standards for ACOs]



PremierConnect Price Lookup, which contains data for some 6.75 million items from more than 1,000 suppliers, "is extremely easy to use," said David Mimms, system director of materials management at Meridian, Miss.-based Rush Health Systems, in a press statement.

"I can now check pricing right from my smartphone instead of needing to be at my desk in front of my computer," he said. "The convenience of having instant accesses no matter where I am helps me significantly during contract negotiations, or any time product pricing is called into question."

[See also: Premier aims to inject analysis into supply purchasing]



Premier officials note that this is the first app to go live in the Apple App Store using Famo.us, an open source JavaScript mobile development framework. That enables the app, in addition to working on the iPhone and iPad, to be Android compatible and accessible through Google Play.



"We're continually looking for innovative and efficient ways to meet the evolving needs of our members and contracted suppliers," said Keith J. Figlioli, Premier's senior vice president of healthcare informatics and a member of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT Standards Committee, in a statement.



"Instead of building separate apps for Apple and Android products, the Famo.us platform allowed us to develop and deliver a single high-quality, fluid mobile experience, with half of the investment typically associated with doing so," he said.



The app allows healthcare providers to search by product description, part number or manufacturer name, helping them find product pricing and contract information such as specifics on price tiers, contract numbers and associated opportunities to reduce supply chain costs, according to Premier; suppliers, meanwhile, can validate pricing and price-activated tiers for specific healthcare facilities.



"With this app, our member supply chain representatives and contracted suppliers have the information they need about the products they use at their fingertips – anytime, anywhere," said Premier's Informatics & Technology Services Chief Operating Officer Leigh Anderson in a statement.

Price Lookup app will also help users network with their peers, access analytics and share best practices in private communities through the PremierConnect integrated technology and social networking platform, officials say. The platform aggregates patient data on one in three U.S. hospital discharges, evidence-based best practices from 2.5 million daily clinical transactions, and approximately $41 billion in annual provider purchases.