For Immediate Release
Medline Announces Exclusive Distribution Agreement for abaqis® Nursing Home Quality Assurance System
Quality assessment and reporting system is tied directly to the CMS Quality Indicator Survey
Tuesday, October 07, 2008 —
Mundelein, Ill./ Centennial, Colo., October 7, 2008 – Medline Industries, Inc. announced today a strategic licensing agreement with Nursing Home Quality, LLC, granting Medline exclusive rights to market and distribute the company's abaqis® Nursing Home Quality Assurance System. The Web-based system allows nursing home providers to identify quality concerns and focus their improvement efforts using the same forms, analysis and thresholds used by state surveyors in the new Quality Indicator Survey (QIS).
"The long-term care survey process has changed dramatically with the QIS, and we're excited to align with a forward-looking company and product that gives healthcare providers a unique ability to improve the quality of resident care," said Shawn Scott, Medline vice president of healthcare corporate sales. "We are always seeking new technologies that provide targeted solutions, so aligning with Nursing Home Quality was a natural fit."
Quality assurance and evaluation of our nation's 15,000 nursing homes – where more than 1.5 million people live – is a growing matter of concern with providers, consumers and the federal government calling for a more consistent and resident-centered survey process. The new QIS process addresses this need through structured protocols that are fully automated on tablet PCs and by obtaining more information from direct questioning of residents and families. As a result, regulatory areas such as quality of life, which were not as fully investigated in the traditional process, are now receiving closer scrutiny.
As the only quality assessment and reporting system for nursing homes tied directly to the QIS, abaqis® gives providers the unique opportunity to use QIS tools and approaches for ongoing quality assurance and continuous survey readiness. Users are able to identify quality concerns in the same manner as surveyors and address those concerns before, rather than after, an evaluation. Rich reporting capabilities identify which care areas a facility should target for quality improvement, and drill-down capabilities provide root cause analysis on a facility-wide or individual resident basis, so healthcare providers can focus their interventions for maximum impact.
"Ensuring quality of care and quality of life for residents, as well as being continuously survey-ready, is a challenge for any healthcare organization," said Andrew Kramer, M.D., CEO of Nursing Home Quality. "With abaqis®, users will be able to build quality assurance, based on the federal code of regulations, into a nursing home's daily processes. The results of such an approach will not only be improved survey readiness, but also dramatic improvement in resident care."
To learn more about the abaqis® Nursing Home Quality Assurance System, visit www.medline.com/abaqis or call 1-800-MEDLINE.
About Nursing Home Quality, LLC
Nursing Home Quality assists nursing home operators and staff members in improving the quality of care and quality of life for their residents. Nursing Home Quality trains surveyors and certifies state survey agency trainers in QIS under contract to CMS and provides affordable and reliable QIS training and Web-based systems to nursing homes.
About Medline
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 and other markets. Headquartered in Mundelein, IL, Medline has more than 800 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 250 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.
Medline has a growing network of 34 distribution centers around the country, as well as an expanding, dedicated transportation fleet with over 160 vehicles in a variety of sizes to fit customers' specific delivery needs. The fleet is equipped with the latest navigation devices for enhanced order tracking and communication.