Medline Industries, Inc. and Strategic Healthcare Programs Partner to Drive Improved Outcomes and Costs for Home Health

MUNDELEIN, IL–(Marketwire – June 30, 2010) –  To help homecare providers improve patient outcomes and comply with the federal government’s new regulations on data collection and implementing best practices, Medline Industries, Inc., and Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP) are together providing a cutting edge solution-based reporting and benchmarking system. The state-of-the-art automated program recognizes specific diagnosis codes in patient records and suggests best-practices supplies and interventions to achieve improved patient outcomes. 

Medline and SHP developed this revolutionary best practices technology to help homecare providers comply with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) new Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS-C) and to improve the agencies’ publicly reported scores on Home Health Compare. Patients reap the benefit of better treatment, decreased wound healing time, and reduction in pain. All of these, in turn, improve the providers’ scores while decreasing costs.

“We have developed a program that not only shows home health agencies where their problems exist, but how to fix them with the right products and treatment,” said Mike Lee, president of Medline’s Homecare Division. 

Medline leverages SHP’s real-time reporting capabilities and automated data interfaces with the industry’s software vendors; and then transmits its patient-specific medical supply order data to SHP. Home health agencies receive SHP’s real-time email notifications alerting them to issues that require immediate attention. If the supply orders do not match best practice recommendations, action can be taken. SHP drill-down reports also identify the specific clinician that is delivering care; thereby allowing for targeted education and increased accountability. 

“Our data indicate that proper management of wounds continues to be both a clinical and financial challenge to healthcare providers. Evidence-based best practices programs such as this are the solution to improving the situation. The patient, provider and payer all benefit in this scenario. This is disease management at its best,” said Barbara Rosenblum, Founder and CEO of SHP.

About Medline Industries, Inc.
Medline, the nation’s largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare products, manufactures and distributes more than 100,000 products to hospitals, extended-care facilities, surgery centers, home care dealers and agencies. Headquartered in Mundelein, Ill., Medline has more than 900 dedicated sales representatives nationwide to support its broad product line and cost management services.

Over the past five years, Medline has been the fastest growing distributor of medical and surgical supplies in the U.S., serving as the primary distributor to over 450 major hospitals and health care systems. As a leading distributor, Medline offers a comprehensive array of consulting and management services encompassing the supply chain and logistics, utilization and standardization, business tools and enhanced reporting capabilities, and on-staff clinicians.

About Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP)
Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP) is an award-winning innovator in real-time decision support tools that immediately improve patient outcomes and protect financial performance. SHP uses best-of-breed technology and data architecture that enables instant deployment of continuous product enhancements to its clients. SHP is the undisputed industry innovator having pioneered real-time benchmarks, data interfaces, risk modeling, on-demand reporting, pushed alerts, integrated patient satisfaction (HHCAHPS), clinician scorecards, gross profit comparisons, RAC surveillance, telehealth data, and disease management programs. SHP is the industry’s only one-stop source for data, spanning all post-acute business lines.