By Keith J. Figlioli, Premier senior vice president of healthcare informatics and member of the ONC's HIT Steering Committee

For Immediate Release

Charlotte, N.C. (April 17, 2014)

Members of the Premier alliance are extremely pleased to see the JASON/MITRE Corporation recommendations for the use of open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) in healthcare data systems.

APIs are the missing link in HIT, essential to ensure that patient, administrative and resource information systems can be accessed by innovators. Today, much of this data is locked away in proprietary systems, holding back efforts to create an electronically connected, data-driven healthcare IT environment.

In creating a more open environment using APIs, it will be possible to cost-effectively create new applications that healthcare providers desperately need. This is a major step in the evolution of HIT, creating innovative tools for patients and providers that ultimately will transform our current system to deliver value-based care.

Keith J. Figlioli is Premier's senior vice president of healthcare informatics and a member of the ONC's HIT Steering Committee. Follow him on Twitter here.

About Premier, Inc.

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ:PINC) is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of more than 2,900 U.S. hospitals and nearly 100,000 other providers to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and advisory and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier, a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare.www.premierinc.com; as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Foursquare and Premier's blog for more information about the company.

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