Press Releases

Fujitsu and University of Toronto Develop World's First Digitally-Processed Gigabit-Class High-Speed Transceiver Chip Feb 10, 2010 10:59AM

Kawasaki, Japan, Feb 10, 2010 - (ACN Newswire) - Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. and the University of Toronto today announced their joint development of a new processing method for transceiver chips used in gigabit-class(1) high-speed data transmission over wirelines. The new technology employs digital circuitry to replace previously-required structures that used analog circuits. While analog processing require circuits that are adapted to the specifications of a signal being transmitted, such as transmission distance and amplitude, this new digital approach can perform these optimizations automatically, so that a single circuit could be used to accommodate a wide range of various wireline communications. Compared to conventional processing methods, this new digital-processing method makes it possible to shorten development periods by approximately half. It is anticipated that this new technology in the future could be applied to a variety of wireline communication applications, including 10 Gbps high-speed Ethernet in datacenters.

Details of this technology were presented at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference 2010 (ISSCC 2010) being held in San Francisco from February 7-11. (Presentation number: 8.7)

Background and Technological Challenges

File size data volumes for large photographic, audio, and video files are becoming increasingly larger, thus requiring a significant amount of bandwidth to transmit, leading to demand for ever-faster wireline data communications. Conventional transceiver chips rely on analog circuitry which needs to be optimized to accommodate specifications of the signal being transmitted - such as transmission distance and amplitude - and therefore require multiple transceiver chips to be designed in order to accommodate for various applications.

With a growing diversity of devices featuring high-speed data transmission, the need to optimize an existing technology for every new type of device or model has become a bottleneck in the development process. Efforts to develop transceiver chips within short development periods that can accommodate the wide range of different devices have been proven challenging.

Newly-developed Technology

Fujitsu Laboratories and the University of Toronto have developed a digital circuit-based transceiver chip. Featuring digital circuitry, the new transceiver chip can automatically optimize itself for a variety of high-speed communications circuits, thus significantly reducing development periods by approximately half compared with conventional methods.

This technology detects variations in the delay on the time axis of the input signal, caused during data transmission, and based on that can automatically adjust the timing it uses for judging whether an incoming signal is a 0 or 1 (Figure 1). Since variations in data transmissions increase along with faster transmission speeds, this new technology is essential for accurate data exchange. This is the world's first technology to achieve Gbps-class speeds without the use of analog circuitry elements, while offering fully-digital timing adjustments for signal-determination.

Results

As a world's first, by using digital circuitry-based high-speed transceiver technology, Fujitsu Laboratories and the University of Toronto's new technology makes it possible to reduce the design and development period for a gigabit-class transceiver chip by approximately one-half (1/2) compared with conventional methods. This suggests that transceiver chips for a wide range of communications devices could be offered in a timely manner.

Future Developments

Fujitsu Laboratories and the University of Toronto will continue with development of this technology to optimize the digital signal processing, to further reduce the transceiver's power consumption.

Glossary and Notes

1 Gigabit-class/Gigabits-per-second (Gbps):Gigabits-per-second (Gbps) expresses data rate and indicates how many gigabits can be transferred per second. 10 Gbps is 10 billion bits-per-second (10 billion bps) = 10,000 megabits-per-second (10,000 Mbps), and indicates that 10 billion bits of data can be transferred per second.

About University of Toronto

Established in 1827, the University of Toronto is Canada's largest university, recognized as a global leader in research and teaching. U of T's distinguished faculty, institutional record of groundbreaking scholarship and wealth of innovative academic opportunities continually attract outstanding students and academics from around the world. U of T is committed to providing a learning experience that benefits from both a scale almost unparalleled in North America and from the close-knit learning communities made possible through its college system and academic divisions. Located in and around Toronto, one of the world's most diverse regions, U of T's vibrant academic life is defined by a unique degree of cultural diversity in its learning community. The University is sustained environmentally by three green campuses, where renowned heritage buildings stand beside award-winning innovations in architectural design.

For more information: http://www.utoronto.ca/

About Fujitsu Ltd

Fujitsu is a leading provider of IT-based business solutions for the global marketplace. With approximately 160,000 employees supporting customers in 70 countries, Fujitsu combines a worldwide corps of systems and services experts with highly reliable computing and communications products and advanced microelectronics to deliver added value to customers. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.6 trillion yen (US$47 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009. For more information, please visit www.fujitsu.com.

Contact: Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.
Design Solutions Lab.
Platform Technologies Lab.
Tel: +81-44-754-2635
E-mail:hsio_adc_pr@ml.labs.fujitsu.com

University of Toronto
Prof. Ali Sheikholeslami
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tel: +1(416)978-1681
E-mail:ali@eecg.utoronto.ca
Address: 10 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G4

Copyright 2010 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved.

Fujitsu and University of Toronto Develop High-Reliability Read-Method for Spin-Torque-Transfer MRAM Feb 10, 2010 10:54AM

Kawasaki, Japan, Feb 10, 2010 - (ACN Newswire) - Fujitsu Laboratories Limited and the University of Toronto today announced that they have jointly developed the world's first high-reliability read-method for use with spin-torque-transfer (STT) MRAM(1) that is insusceptible to erroneous writes. STT MRAM is regarded as a potential future form of non-volatile memory(2) that could be used as an alternative to flash memory. NOR flash memory that is embedded in microcontrollers widely used in mobile phones and other electronic devices is expected to reach the limits of its feasible miniaturization in the near future, which has led to the search for an alternative low-power non-volatile memory that will allow continued necessary miniaturization. By resolving one of the major obstacles to using STT MRAM, Fujitsu and the University of Toronto's new read-method marks a major step towards the practical implementation of STT MRAM as a necessary replacement for flash memory, in view of future requirements that will be necessary for compact and low-power electronic devices.

Details of this technology were presented at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference 2010 (ISSCC 2010) being held in San Francisco from February 7-11. (Presentation number: 14.1)

Background

Many electronic devices such as mobile phones or PDAs use microcontrollers with embedded flash memory, which allows onboard software to be rewritten. However, NOR flash memory used in such microcontrollers is nearing the physical limits of its miniaturization, which has led to research on various types of memory that could replace NOR flash memory.

STT MRAM, which uses magnetic materials as the memory storage element, is gaining attention as an emerging potential candidate to replace flash memory, as STT MRAM meets the needs for speed, low power consumption, and miniaturization that would make it a good candidate to replace flash memory.

Technological Challenges

STT MRAM uses memory storage elements that take advantage of the effect in which a current that is passed through a magnetic material - such as a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ)(3) - reverses its direction of magnetization (Figure 1). Passing a current through the MTJ causes its direction of magnetization to switch between a parallel or anti-parallel state, which has the effect of switching between low resistance and high resistance. Because this can be used to represent the 1s and 0s of digital information, STT MRAM can be used as a non-volatile memory.

Reading STT MRAM involves applying a voltage to the MTJ to discover whether the MTJ offers high resistance to current ("1") or low ("0"). However, a relatively high voltage needs to be applied to the MTJ to correctly determine whether its resistance is high or low, and the current passed at this voltage leaves little difference between the read-current and the write-current. Any fluctuation in the electrical characteristics of individual MTJs could cause what was intended as a read-current, to have the effect of a write-current, thus reversing the direction of magnetization of the MTJ.

Newly-developed Technology

In a joint collaboration, Fujitsu Laboratories and the University of Toronto have developed an innovative circuit design (Figure 3) that for the first time resolves the issue of erroneous writes in STT MRAM during read operations.

The newly developed read-method uses a negative resistance(4) that is intermediate between the MTJ's high resistance and low resistance on a parallel circuit (Figure 4). If the MTJ is in a high-resistance state, this circuit exhibits negative-resistance characteristics. If the MTJ is in a low-resistance state, then it exhibits normal-resistance characteristics. These characteristics allow the resistance value to be read at lower voltages than before, suppressing the tendency of the read operation to reverse the direction of magnetization and avoiding the problem of erroneous write operations.

Results

The development of this new read circuit with negative resistance has resulted in STT MRAM that is insusceptible to erroneous writes caused by fluctuations in the electrical characteristics of the MTJs. It is anticipated that the STT MRAM used as miniaturized non-volatile memory would enable greater high-performance in mobile phones and other electronic devices.

Future Developments

Fujitsu Laboratories and the University of Toronto plan to continue with R&D related to STT MRAM to strive toward practical implementation, such as lowering write currents and developing process technologies for further miniaturization.

Glossary and Notes

1 Spin- Torque-Transfer MRAM:Spin-torque-transfer magnetoresistive (STT) random access memory. MRAM that uses the "spin-torque-transfer" effect to reverse the direction of magnetization of an element by passing current through it.

2 Non-volatile memory:Memory that persists even when electrical power is cut.

3 Magnetic tunnel junction (MJT):A tunnel junction that uses the magnetoresistive effect. Consists of a recording layer made of ferromagnetic material, an insulating film a few atoms thick, and a layer made of ferromagnetic material that will not change its direction of magnetization in the presence of a current.

4 Negative resistance:An element that has negative resistance value, in which its current decreases when voltage rises.

About University of Toronto

Established in 1827, the University of Toronto is Canada's largest university, recognized as a global leader in research and teaching. U of T's distinguished faculty, institutional record of groundbreaking scholarship and wealth of innovative academic opportunities continually attract outstanding students and academics from around the world. U of T is committed to providing a learning experience that benefits from both a scale almost unparalleled in North America and from the close-knit learning communities made possible through its college system and academic divisions. Located in and around Toronto, one of the world's most diverse regions, U of T's vibrant academic life is defined by a unique degree of cultural diversity in its learning community. The University is sustained environmentally by three green campuses, where renowned heritage buildings stand beside award-winning innovations in architectural design.

For more information: http://www.utoronto.ca/

About Fujitsu Ltd

Fujitsu is a leading provider of IT-based business solutions for the global marketplace. With approximately 160,000 employees supporting customers in 70 countries, Fujitsu combines a worldwide corps of systems and services experts with highly reliable computing and communications products and advanced microelectronics to deliver added value to customers. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.6 trillion yen (US$47 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009. For more information, please visit www.fujitsu.com.

Contact: Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.
Technology Integration Lab.
Platform Technologies Lab.
Tel: +81(46)250-8379
E-mail:til-si@ml.labs.fujitsu.com

University of Toronto
Prof. Ali Sheikholeslami
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tel: +1(416)978-1681
E-mail:ali@eecg.utoronto.ca
Address: 10 King's College Road, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G4 Canada

Copyright 2010 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved.

Jatheon Breathes New Life Into Evans Fruit Email Archiving System Feb 10, 2010 09:15AM

TORONTO -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 02/10/10 -- Jatheon Technologies, a leading provider in Plug n Comply™ email archiving appliances, announced today that Evans Fruit, one of the leading fruit growers in the United States, has replaced its existing email archiving system with Jatheon's next generation Plug n Comply™ solution.

The implementation of Jatheon's PnC2 archiving appliance has addressed key areas of concern for Evans Fruit such as: search by phrase or keywords and speed and functionality. The "and/or" functionality of the Jatheon appliance for using multiple identifiers in internal searches was a big selling point for Evans Fruit Company. "Jatheon was able to give us the feature set that our previous supplier could not, and at the greatest value by far," said Jeremy Hines, Manager of Information Systems at Evans Fruit. "Evans Fruit Company is delighted with the speed, functionality, and support offered by Jatheon. Its performance and reliability have by far exceeded our previous email management system, and we look forward to the continued use of this essential product for a long time to come."

"We are pleased to welcome Evans Fruit Company to our growing client roster and to provide the organization with the email archiving and compliance tools needed to not only satisfy eDiscovery rules and regulations, but to proactively manage risk," said Kieron Dowling, President at Jatheon Technologies. "We strive for our relationship to serve as a valuable, trust-building experience for Evans Fruit, by keeping the organization a step ahead of stringent government regulations, and maintaining compliance with internal policies."

Evans Fruit has made Jatheon's next generation archiving solution an integral part of their best practices for managing all electronic communication. It is saving hours of operational time and taking advantage of robust features that include:

--  Indexed speedy search functionality -- search by keyword, phrase,
    letters, numbers, stock symbols, or even the bcc field
--  Internal policy management and intelligence
--  Highly scalable storage space
--  Mail platform migration

About Evans Fruit Company

Evans Fruit Company was founded by Bill and Jeannette Evans in 1949 and is one of the leading fruit growers in the United States. The company is the largest producer of Red Delicious apples in the state of Washington and sells approximately $150 million of tree fruit each year; ninety-eight percent is apples. Evans Fruit farms over 10,000 acres of orchards, operates three packing facilities, one pre-size facility, and maintains eight other Controlled Atmosphere storage facilities. For further information, visit http://www.evansfruitco.com.

About Jatheon Technologies

Honored with Deloitte's Top 10 Companies-to-Watch Award, Jatheon Technologies is the designer, developer and marketer of Plug n Comply™, a family of network appliances that simplify archiving, indexing, retrieval and dynamic monitoring of corporate email and messaging data. Jatheon's Plug n Comply offering is an integrated appliance that is simple, secure and scalable, offering absolute control of confidential messaging data whether it is email or instant messaging. The Jatheon family of appliances enables organizations to meet and exceed the highest standards of regulatory compliance and corporate governance. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Jatheon serves North America and Europe through its network of global business partners. For more information, please visit http://www.jatheon.com.

Plug n Comply is a trademark of Jatheon Technologies Inc. All other names, brands, or products may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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Contact Information:
Jatheon Technologies Inc.
Juliet Suddaby
Email Contact
416. 840.0418
www.jatheon.com

Caustic Soda: 2010 World Market Outlook and Forecast Been Recently Released by MarketPublishers.com Feb 10, 2010 09:14AM

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Within Chemicals & Petrochemicals Reports Package 2010, a newly updated market report "Caustic Soda: 2010 World Market Outlook And Forecast" has been recently issued by Market Publishers, Ltd. The report features important aspects of Caustic Soda market, provides its full and thorough analysis, focusing on the regional, country and world markets. It is broken into several parts following the logic of a research:

    --  General information (properties, applications, manufacturing processes);
    --  World market characteristics (capacities, production, consumption,
        prices, trade by region, and future projects);
    --  Overviews of regional markets by country (European, Asian, American,
        Middle East, African, and Oceanian markets).

The market research is accomplished by a list of major Caustic Soda suppliers and profiles of leading producers.

Caustic Soda market perspectives till 2015 are given on global and regional basis (capacities, consumption, production, and prices).

Caustic Soda: 2010 World Market Outlook And Forecast

http://marketpublishers.com/report/industry/chemicals_petrochemicals/caustic_soda_world_market_outlook_n_forecast.html

Updated: Jan, 2010

Pages: 630

The report description and content are also available in Russian and in German languages.

The market research on Caustic Soda has been worked out by Merchant Research & Consulting Ltd, an internationally recognized market research agency, specializing in chemical industry. 'Caustic Soda: 2010 World Market Outlook And Forecast' is a part of Inorganic Chemicals Reports Package 2010, which also highlights Chlorine, Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Hydroxide, Soda Ash, Sodium Chlorate, Sodium Sulphate, Hydrogen Peroxide markets.

Daily updated news on Caustic Soda, Chlorine, Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Hydroxide, Soda Ash, Sodium Chlorate, Sodium Sulphate, Hydrogen Peroxide and other chemicals can be reached at

www.ChemGuide.Asia,

www.ChemGuideEurope.com,

www.ChemGuideUSA.com,

www.ChemGuide.Ru

    Source: TD The MarketPublishers

Premier Healthcare Alliance Helps Members Achieve Record Savings of More Than $1 Billion in 2009 Feb 10, 2010 09:14AM

Collaborative projects help hospital members improve quality of patient care, safely reduce hospital costs

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Premier healthcare alliance generated record validated member savings of more than $1 billion in its fiscal 2009, while the alliance grew to more than 2,300 not-for-profit hospitals and 64,000-plus other healthcare sites.

Premier experienced growth across its operations committed to enhancing hospital clinical, financial and operational improvement, as well as managing risk. The alliance also realized valuable results from collaboratives dedicated to assisting its alliance members in improving quality of care while safely reducing hospital costs.

"From healthcare reform to a slumping economy, not-for-profit hospitals have faced unprecedented challenges over the last year," said Premier Board Chair Michael Connelly, president and CEO of Catholic Healthcare Partners, a 33-hospital system based in Cincinnati. "The Premier alliance is dedicated to helping its member hospitals meet these challenges head-on and to drive quality and cost improvements even in the most difficult times."

Said Premier's President and CEO Susan DeVore, "Premier prides itself on its ability to bring alliance members together to share knowledge and data. Collaboration among Premier and our member hospitals allows us to use facts to determine which practices, products and solutions will drive the best patient outcomes."

Reducing costs

Premier's supply chain efficiency efforts with members returned a record more than $273 million in cash distributions to its owner not-for-profit hospitals and healthcare systems in its fiscal 2009.

One hundred and fifty hospitals and health systems nationwide representing more than $3 billion in supply chain purchasing volume have to date joined Premier's ASCEND(TM) (Accelerated Supply Chain Endeavor) program, designed to help participants achieve and sustain rapid improvements in supply chain performance and affordability. Since May 2009, participants in the program have reduced their supply expenses in recently launched categories by up to 37 percent.

Premier's Continuum of Care(TM) (CofC) division added 9,500 of its more than 64,000 non-acute care members during its fiscal year 2009. The new members represent $1 billion of Premier's CofC $5.3 billion annual supply purchasing spend. Premier became the first healthcare GPO to set specific foodservice quality and safety guidelines when it released a set of standards for foodservices delivered to hospitals.

An analysis by Premier and GNYHA Ventures Inc., Greater New York Hospital Association's supply chain enterprise that includes GPOs, suggested that hospitals could improve healthcare quality and achieve cumulative savings of $317 billion if certain policies are enacted to create a more competitive and transparent purchasing environment.

Inflation rates for healthcare supplies are projected to remain unchanged through 2010, according to Premier's Economic Outlook and Inflation Estimates report. The analysis suggests annual market inflation rates will increase on average between 1.6 percent and 4 percent across categories such as cardiovascular services, facilities, imaging and nursing.

To help its member hospitals control supply chain costs while improving quality, Premier released an enhanced version of SupplyFocus(R), the healthcare industry's leading supply cost benchmarking and comparative analysis solution. In addition, using Premier's SpendAdvisor(TM), Alamance Regional Medical Center in Burlington, N.C., achieved a one-year savings of $2 million, twice its initial goal.

Improving quality and safety

Premier continued to collaborate with alliance members on both national and regional levels through projects aimed at improving quality while safely reducing costs.

Hospitals participating in Premier's QUEST(R): High Performing Hospitals national collaborative saved an estimated total of 8,043 lives and $577 million in the first year of the project. Of the approximately 2.3 million patients treated annually in these hospitals, 24,818 additional patients received treatments that met the highest quality patient care standards when compared to baseline performance at the outset of the project. According to a Premier analysis of these Year 1 results, if non-participating hospitals were able to achieve the improvements found among the QUEST participants, they could save an estimated additional 52,760 lives.

More than 1.5 million patients treated in the Premier, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration (HQID)(TM) value-based purchasing (VBP) project are living longer and receiving recommended treatments more frequently. Participating hospitals raised overall quality by an average of 17.2 percent over four years based on their delivery of 30 nationally standardized and widely accepted care measures to patients in five clinical areas. The HQID project has served as a basis for CMS' proposal to Congress for a national VBP or pay-for-performance program. An additional analysis of HQID results for the first three years showed that there was no significant relationship between designation and either awards or recognition. The same analysis showed that even though these hospitals performed below others at the outset of the project, they had the same likelihood of receiving awards by the end of the third year.

More than 270 hospitals are now using SafetySurveillor(R), Premier's real-time application to prevent healthcare-associated infections and optimize antibiotic use.

Alliance member hospitals improved quality and safety while achieving savings with Premier solutions. Bon Secours Health System has reduced sepsis mortality by 120 patients since it began using QualityConnect(TM), Premier's program to enhance quality of care. The healthcare system also achieved cost savings of nearly $2 million. Premier's SafetyConnect(TM) program, designed to improve safety and reduce infections, allowed two hospitals in St. Joseph Health System of Humboldt, Calif., to report influenza cases within minutes after requests from public health officials to track all influenza cases around the H1N1 outbreak. In addition, Frederick Memorial Healthcare System saved more than $5 million by using LaborConnect(TM), Premier's labor management program. OperationsAdvisor(R), Premier's Web-based labor benchmarking solution, is part of the LaborConnect program and, when utilized with an on-site Performance Partner, is producing an average return-on-investment of 14 to 1.

Premier Consulting Solutions

Premier Consulting Solutions(TM) added more than 80 new customers, along with approximately 120 customer engagements, throughout FY 2009.

Premier acquired Phase 2 Consulting (P2C), a leading provider of consulting services to hospitals and health systems. The acquisition of P2C from RehabCare Group Inc. (NYSE: RHB) provides resources to help meet the growing demand for PCS' services.

To help hospitals achieve maximum revenue retention as a part of Medicare's Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program, Premier enhanced its quality benchmarking and regulatory reporting solution, QualityAdvisor(TM), to include RAC capabilities.

PCS launched ProviderConnect(TM), a program to bridge the gap between clinical and business processes by helping hospitals and health systems improve quality and outcomes, control costs and increase profitability.

Heartland Regional Medical Center has saved more than $3.3 million by using PCS and Premier technologies to improve quality and safety in cardiovascular services while delivering cost-effective care.

Premier Insurance Management Services Inc.

Premier Insurance Management Services Inc.(TM) (PIMS), a for-profit corporation wholly owned by Premier Inc., returned more than $791,000 in experience credit payments to 50 hospitals and healthcare systems participating in its Excess Workers' Compensation and Fidelity/Fiduciary sponsored insurance programs. PIMS also produced $1.1 million in validated savings to members participating in other sponsored insurance programs, with savings on employer-paid life and disability products driving the largest annual savings.

PIMS introduced a Clinical Risk Management (CRM) assessment program to evaluate performance and collaboration across the risk management, safety and quality functions in hospitals and healthcare systems.

A new healthcare property risk management program was announced, designed to help healthcare providers reduce costs, improve coverage, minimize losses and deliver a superior level of claims service. As a part of the program, PIMS is now offering a dual sponsorship for property insurance with existing provider Chubb Group of Insurance Companies and newly added Zurich North America.

Premier Advocacy

Premier's Advocacy office was at the center of efforts to advance healthcare reform legislation and has been able to realize important benefits for hospitals, including provisions requiring the Food and Drug Administration to issue unique device identification regulations, a national expansion of the VBP program modeled on the success of HQID, a voluntary bundled payment pilot program and the creation of voluntary Accountable Care Organizations that support hospital participation and leadership.

Additionally, Premier was active in securing funding through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, including a moratoria on harmful Medicare and Medicaid regulations, an $86.7 billion temporary increase in federal medical assistance funding, a 2.5 percent temporary increase in disproportionate share payments, $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research and $19 billion in funding for health information technology.

Premier leadership

Susan DeVore assumed the role of president and CEO, and Keith J. Figlioli joined as senior vice president of Premier's Healthcare Informatics division.

The United States Department of Defense recognized Premier Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Joe Pleasant for his efforts to promote supply chain data standards to enhance patient safety while reducing healthcare costs.

For the second year in a row, Premier has been named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. Premier was also ranked among the top 10 best places to work on Modern Healthcare magazine's 100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare list. In addition, 26 Premier alliance hospital members were named to the list.

About Premier Inc., 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient

The Premier healthcare alliance is more than 2,300 U.S. hospitals and 64,000-plus other healthcare sites working together to improve healthcare quality and affordability. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has offices in San Diego, Philadelphia and Washington. Follow Premier on Twitter.

    Source: Premier Inc.