Premier is expanding an existing partnership with Merck to address Clostridium difficile infections in hospitals.
Here are four things to know:
1. Merck and Premier first partnered in 2016 to co-develop and test healthcare improvement solutions for specific groups of at-risk patients.
2. Under the new initiative, the companies will create a software-based platform to offer surveillance, consultation, support and education to C. diff patients, in conjunction with a care coordinator.
"The goal is to increase patient access to healthcare services, raise awareness of how to decrease patient risk of recurrence and help patients identify if they are having a recurrence," said Premier.
3. Merck and Premier will test the improvement initiative at participating Premier member health systems.
4. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.