A Medical Device Daily
DR Systems (San Diego) said yesterday that it has been awarded a new contract with Premier (Charlotte, North Carolina)for its radiology information systems (RIS) and picture archiving and communications systems (PACS). The three-year agreement is effective January 1, 2008.
Premier is one of the nation’s largest healthcare purchasing networks, serving more than 1,700 member hospitals and more than 49,000 other healthcare sites.
With the new agreement, Premier members will have the ability to utilize an exclusive offering of lease-to-purchase or flexible capital-purchase plans, deep discounts, and unique Imaging Center packages. Because DR Systems provides a single-vendor solution, healthcare customers can simplify their enterprise information technology management and reduce their costs, by consolidating associated applications on one unified system with a single user interface.
In addition to purchasing a new RIS/PACS solution, Premier members will be able to take advantage of DR Systems’ unique approach to imaging IT. DR Systems is known for its ability to improve patient care and physician satisfaction, while also driving down operating costs.
DR Systems is an independent provider of medical imaging and information systems for diagnostic imaging centers and hospitals.
In other contract news:
• The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and UnitedHealthcare have agreed to sign a multi-year contract providing UnitedHealthcare members with full access to Health Alliance physicians and hospitals in Southwest Ohio, helping maintain UnitedHealthcare’s broad range of options for quality healthcare, it said.
The contract will be retroactive to Nov. 1, 2007.
The contract will cover the Health Alliance’s University Hospital, Jewish Hospital, Fort Hamilton Hospital, Drake Center, the 200 physicians of Alliance Primary Care and Cincinnati Medical Imaging.
“This agreement renews our partnership with the Health Alliance and allows us together to advance healthcare quality and ease administration for the people we jointly serve,” said Paul Brophy, executive director, UnitedHealthcare of Southwest Ohio. “We can now move forward to build a stronger relationship that is in the best interest of our community.”
The Health Alliance is Greater Cincinnati’s largest system of not-for-profit, community-based hospitals.
• Aetna (Hartford, Connecticut) reported yesterday it has reached agreement on a two-year contract renewal with St. Vincent’s HealthCare (Jacksonville, Florida) solidifying a long-term relationship with the North Florida health system.
Under the agreement, which took effect Nov. 1, members of Aetna’s commercial and Medicare HMO plans will be able to receive covered in-patient and out-patient services, at in-network rates, from St. Vincent’s Medical Center and First Coast Primary Care.
Aetna provides health benefits to about 228,000 members in North Florida. Those members have access to a contracted network of 10 hospitals and more than 2,700 primary-care and specialist physicians.
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified healthcare benefits companies, serving about 36.4 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their healthcare.