The Premier healthcare alliance is accepting applications for its QUEST Comparative Effectiveness & Innovation Program (QCEIP), through which suppliers volunteer to evaluate products and clinical interventions in real-world settings at Premier member hospitals.

QCEIP, now in its third phase, helps inform providers and patients about safe, cost-effective treatments for certain clinical conditions. It also generates results that enable the healthcare community to better understand patient outcomes associated with the use of certain products.

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

"We’re working with our member hospitals to accelerate patient access to innovative, safe and efficient products and technologies," said Bill Zeruld, vice president of Premier Research Services. "Testing these products and clinical interventions in real-world settings is critical to ensuring care delivery is reliable and provided at the best possible cost."

Any healthcare supplier nationwide is eligible to join QCEIP, whether or not it has a supply contract with Premier, officials say. Baxter, Lantheus Medical Imaging Inc. and Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics were selected to participate in the first phase of QCEIP, the results from which are pending peer review.

[See also: Premier initiative looks to data, analytics to boost patient outcomes.]

Supplier applications are reviewed by a multidisciplinary team consisting of hospital experts from Premier's QUEST: High Performing Hospitals collaborative, Premier's Center for Evidence-Based Pharmacy Practice and Premier Research Services.

QCEIP consists of the following:

• Conducting a study that will correlate health outcomes to product performance using Premier's secondary data sources;
• Creating an abstract for publication based on the results of the secondary data analysis; and
• After clearing the peer review process, using a variety of communications channels to inform the Premier alliance and broader healthcare community of the study results.

QCEIP leverages Premier Research Services’ expertise and data from the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information to test, validate and substantiate the concepts submitted by participating suppliers. Premier Research Services and Premier data have been featured in more than 200 peer-reviewed publications.

QUEST is a voluntary collaborative consisting of 293 hospitals nationwide that share data and best practices, while identifying and implementing opportunities for improvement to achieve top performance levels. In just three years, the 157 QUEST charter member hospitals saved an estimated 24,820 lives and reduced healthcare spending by nearly $4.5 billion.

Suppliers can apply via this application form on or before the deadline of February 3, 2012.