Mortsel, Belgium / Toronto, Canada - 1 December, 2009 - 8:00am EDT
(RSNA - Booth# 8324) Agfa HealthCare, a leading provider of diagnostic imaging and healthcare IT solutions, announced today that Premier Purchasing Partners, L.P., the group purchasing unit of Premier, Inc. has selected Agfa HealthCare as the sole source provider of Computed Radiography Products for Premier's ASCEND(TM) program. With this three-year arrangement, all ASCEND members now have access to the pre-negotiated pricing and terms for Agfa HealthCare's Computed Radiography solutions.
ASCEND(TM) (Accelerated Supply Chain Endeavor) is designed to help healthcare providers achieve and sustain rapid improvements in supply chain performance. It also assists Premier alliance member hospitals in ongoing efforts to control and reduce costs through simplified purchasing processes, appropriate clinical utilization and specially negotiated contracts. More than 103 participants that represent approximately $2.8 billion in supply chain purchasing volume and close to 25,000 hospital beds are collaborating to share best practices in supply chain efficiency as a part of the program.
Agfa HealthCare's entire line of CR hardware, software, accessories, and service maintenance agreements is covered in this contract. Agfa HealthCare's CR line includes the CR 85-X high capacity multi-plate system; the company's two single plate systems, CR 35-X and the CR 30-X, and its innovative, needle-based detector DX-S. Also included is Agfa Healthcare's newest high-throughput multi-plate CR system, the DX-G; which will be featured at the 2009 RSNA. All Agfa HealthCare CR solutions are available with its leading workflow optimizing NX graphical user interface and award winning MUSICA2 image processing algorithms.
Effective January 1, 2010, this contract will be the latest in a progression of Agfa HealthCare's ongoing relationship with Premier and its member facilities that spans back to 1995. Agfa HealthCare also has EIMS (Enterprise Image Management Solutions) and Film, Dry Media, and Imagers contracts with Premier.
Agfa HealthCare works in a consultative relationship with its customers in order to help them achieve seamless integration and connectivity across the enterprise. The company's success is based on its ability to offer a unique combination of diagnostic imaging and healthcare IT experience that allows for a fully integrated image-enabled electronic medical record.
