Mike Alkire, president and CEO of Premier often advises health system executives. In fact, Alkire and the group-purchasing organization advise an estimated 4,400 health systems and 250,000 providers in the United States.

“If I were running a healthcare system, I would consider thinking about being a retailer,” Alkire said. Along with making a hospital appealing and convenient, he said, “I would try to embrace technology as much as I could, (for) the mundane tasks.”