Mercy Health Partners Targets Medication Safety Imperative with McKess

Mercy Health Partners Targets Medication Safety Imperative with McKesson Clinical IT and Automation Solutions

    Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

    DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2005--

Mercy Initiative is Part of Catholic Health Partners IT Standardization Program
    Mercy Health Partners-Southwest Ohio Region (Mercy), a five-hospital region of Catholic Health Partners (CHP), one of the nation's largest not-for-profit health systems, today announced that it has signed a multimillion Dollar software, automation and consulting services contract with McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) to help achieve its medication safety goals. Mercy has selected McKesson's automation solutions and Horizon Clinicals(TM) IT solutions to improve workflow, reduce care variability and enhance patient outcomes across its five hospitals.
    Mercy will begin by deploying McKesson's centralized pharmacy information system with advanced clinical screening in conjunction with the company's on-site packaging service to support 100 percent bar-coded medication administration at the bedside. Three of the five hospitals will also deploy the McKesson MedCarousel(TM) medication storage and retrieval system to reduce dispensing errors, increase pharmacy productivity and automate inventory management. Electronic order management, emergency care tracking, clinical alerts, expert documentation and clinical decision support/CPOE round out the complete solution.
    Mercy has also engaged McKesson's clinical consulting services to accelerate time to value and optimize clinician adoption of the broad solution set. An on-site team will analyze, redesign and then standardize processes as much as possible across all five facilities, focusing particularly on the medication management process.
    "Our strategic imperative is to be the preferred provider in the communities we serve -- by physicians, employees and patients," said Ray Pierangeli, Mercy's senior vice president and chief information officer. "We plan to use IT and automation as tools to implement best practices and standardize care delivery within and across our facilities. Patient safety is the driver we use to establish our priorities. Medication administration is at the top of the list, with clinical decision support and CPOE as the ultimate goal."
    Last October, St. Mary's Health System in Knoxville, Tenn., became the first CHP hospital to implement McKesson's clinical decision support/CPOE system, Horizon Expert Orders(TM). A member of McKesson's Clinical Leadership Program, St. Mary's began rolling out the system in its women's pavilion and is now expanding usage to other areas of the hospital. "Horizon Expert Orders has improved both the accuracy and speed of carrying out physicians' orders, which positively affects both the quality of care and patient satisfaction," said Debra K. London, St. Mary's president and chief executive officer. "It's exciting to see other CHP regions embark on this journey with us."
    "We look forward to continuing our work with St. Mary's and expanding our relationship with Mercy to address its medication safety imperative," said Pamela Pure, president of McKesson Provider Technologies. "McKesson brings to bear not only the best software and automation solutions in the industry, but also the unique ability to integrate in-depth product knowledge with business process expertise through a single point of accountability. This helps us ensure that our customers achieve faster, more uniform and sustainable results."

    CHP Standardizes for Improved Operational Performance

    In a related initiative, CHP announced that it will implement McKesson's resource management solutions -- including financial and materials management as well as executive decision support and performance monitoring -- across all 27 CHP hospitals, representing more than 5,000 beds. The solutions were recently named "Best in KLAS" by KLAS Enterprises in its Top 20: 2004 Best in KLAS year-end report. KLAS Enterprises is a research and consulting firm specializing in monitoring and reporting the performance of information technology vendors in the healthcare field. CHP's implementation is part of a larger standardization effort that also includes the use of document and medical imaging solutions from McKesson across its nine acute-care regions in order to improve financial performance and increase access to information.
    The health system has already broadly deployed McKesson's document imaging solution in its facilities to electronically manage medical records and reduce chart deficiencies. Physicians access the system through McKesson's Web-based physician portal to review, complete and sign medical charts regardless of their location -- hospital, home, office or elsewhere. Nine CHP facilities are also "live" or installing Horizon Medical Imaging, a picture archiving and communications system (PACS) that enables clinicians to electronically access diagnostic images for more informed decision-making and faster time to treatment.
    "We've been on a journey for several years to standardize wherever appropriate, and as our long-term partner, McKesson is helping us to achieve our strategic goals," said Becky Sykes, CHP's chief information officer. "We've seen both clinical and operational benefits from our IT investments to date. The portal, for example, has been a huge physician satisfier. The next phase of our strategic plan will enable us to further standardize on systems that improve quality, safety and efficiency."

    About Catholic Health Partners

    Catholic Healthcare Partners is the largest health system in Ohio and one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the United States. It is a mission-driven organization with five co-sponsors. CHP consists of more than 100 corporations organized into 10 regions that serve the health needs of persons in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. For more information, visit the CHP website at www.health-partners.org.

    About McKesson

    McKesson Corporation is a Fortune 16 healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes, and improving the quality and safety of patient care. Over the course of its 170-year history, McKesson has grown by providing pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients. For more information, visit us at www.mckesson.com.

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CONTACT: McKesson Corporation Paul Adams, 404-338-3414 paul.adams@mckesson.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA TEXAS INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE PHARMACEUTICAL MEDICAL SOFTWARE PRODUCT MARKETING AGREEMENTS SOURCE: McKesson Corporation

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