Oct. 7, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Premier Purchasing Partners, LP, today announced Retractable Technologies Inc. of Little Elm, Texas, a small business enterprise, has been added to its safety phlebotomy portfolio, joining Becton Dickinson and Company of Franklin Lakes, N.J.; Greiner Vacuette North America Inc. of Monroe, N.C.; and Smiths Medical, ASD Inc. of Rockland, Mass.

Effective October 1, 2009, the agreement is available to acute care and continuum of care members of the Premier healthcare alliance.

About Premier Inc., 2006 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient

The Premier healthcare alliance is more than 2,200 U.S. hospitals and 63,000-plus other healthcare sites working together to improve healthcare quality and affordability. Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier works with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Premier has offices in San Diego, Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Washington. Follow Premier on Twitter.