iMcKesson Signs License Agreement With Independence Blue Cross for Web-based InterQual Clinical Criteria; Guidelines for Rehab, Subacute and SNF Care to Aid Decision-Making

Business Wire, Feb 9, 2001

Business Editors

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2001

iMcKesson LLC, a healthcare technology and services subsidiary of McKesson HBOC, Inc., announced today that it will supply its Web-based InterQual(R) clinical decision support criteria to Independence Blue Cross (IBC), a Philadelphia-based insurer. Under the three-year license agreement, which takes effect immediately, iMcKesson is providing IBC with products that guide decisions on the appropriateness of care provided in rehabilitation, subacute and skilled nursing facility (SNF) settings.

IBC will use iMcKesson's Rehabilitation Levels of Care Criteria, which help to assess a patient's candidacy for an acute or subacute rehabilitation setting and the appropriateness of ongoing care and discharge. The organization will also use Subacute and SNF Levels of Care Criteria to guide decisions about the clinical appropriateness of admission, continued services and discharge from subacute units and skilled nursing facilities.

"We were looking for detailed clinical criteria to review admissions and continued stays for specific levels of care," said Gary Owens, MD, vice president of patient care management at IBC. "The InterQual Products met our requirements, and the browser format will enable our users easy online access to criteria."

Jackie Mitus, chief operating officer of the Medical Management Group Products Division at iMcKesson, said, "The credible clinical foundation and wide range of our criteria products fit well with the scope of care that most Blue Cross organizations cover. The agreement with Independence Blue Cross has great potential for being the first chapter of a growing partnership."

iMcKesson's InterQual(R) Products are person-based clinical appropriateness and level-of-care decision support tools that support efficient, consistent and defensible decisions, facilitate the review process, and can be used to meet accreditation requirements.

About Independence Blue Cross

IBC is a full service health insurance company headquartered in Philadelphia. It employs 8,400 people to serve its 2.8 million members throughout the tri-state area.

About iMcKesson

iMcKesson provides medical management services and tools to help managed care organizations, employers and providers better manage the cost and quality of medical care, and a comprehensive suite of clinical, administrative, and connectivity solutions for physicians. iMcKesson's Medical Management Group provides InterQual(R) Products, patient-specific clinical appropriateness and level-of-care decision support tools that enable efficient, consistent and defensible decisions, facilitate the review process and can be used to meet accreditation requirements. These tools are used by more than 2,100 hospitals and 900 payors reaching more than 100 million covered lives.

iMcKesson is headquartered in San Francisco with operations across the U.S. and in Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. For more information about the company, visit the iMcKesson Web site at www.imckesson.com.