News & Events

On December 3, 2008, Premier healthcare alliance announced that BD was selected as one of six industry finalists to participate in its QUEST nationwide hospital collaborative, a three-year quality improvement project being implemented by 166 hospitals across 31 states.The BD GeneOhm™ MRSA molecular assay, which tests hospital patients who may carry the deadly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, was selected to help to reduce healthcare-associated infections as part of a comprehensive infection prevention and control program.

“QUEST is a collaborative effort among care providers.Together, manufacturers and healthcare experts are working to achieve measurable improvement in quality, safety and cost of care for patients” said Susan DeVore, Chief Operating Officer at Premier. “We selected the BD GeneOhm assay as one of the first six finalists due to the rapidity with which it can help hospitals detect the presence of MRSA, enabling them to swiftly implement appropriate interventions.Through the Comparative Innovation Program, we aim to put innovative solutions in the hands of clinicians as soon as possible, so they can begin using them to care for patients in the safest, most efficacious manner.”

“BD is proud to have been selected from over 85 industry applications to participate in the Premier QUEST program,” said Jamie Condie, Vice President and General Manager, BD Diagnostics – Molecular Diagnostics.“We are committed to the development and support of effective clinical diagnostic tools that enable hospitals to efficiently and cost-effectively reduce healthcare-associated infections.We are confident that those QUEST hospitals who elect to implement BD GeneOhm MRSA assay will achieve significant outcomes with the test as part of a comprehensive infection prevention program.”

Building upon the 5 Million Lives Campaign from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, QUEST institutions have performance targets to save lives, safely reduce the cost of care, deliver the most reliable and effective care, and improve patient safety and satisfaction.

The BD GeneOhm MRSA molecular assay is a leading approach to rapidly identify patients carrying MRSA, allowing healthcare practitioners to take prompt action to help avoid MRSA infections and prevent MRSA transmission.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about 94,000 MRSA infections occur annually in the United States, leading to nearly 19,000 deaths.