University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Selects McKesson to Optimize Organizational Efficiency

Market Wire, May, 2006

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), one of the leading non-profit medical centers in the country, has selected McKesson for two simultaneous multi-million-dollar technology initiatives designed to optimize quality of care and operational efficiency across its 19-hospital system. UPMC will undertake a large-scale deployment of McKesson's market-leading document imaging solution, Horizon Patient Folder(TM), to create legal electronic medical records (EMRs). The move to an integrated, enterprise-wide EMR solution from stand-alone systems will aid in the streamlining of registration, medical records and billing processes. The EMR initiative will generate significant benefits over a six-year period by improving staff productivity and reducing administrative costs, such as those associated with storing paper-based patient information.

In a similar enterprise-wide initiative, UPMC will deploy additional McKesson automation solutions to enhance the safety and efficiency of pharmacy operations while optimizing asset management. The new technologies include McKesson's MedCarousel(TM) medication storage and retrieval system and its Fulfill-Rx(TM) ordering and inventory management solution. The systems will enable UPMC to integrate with McKesson's supply distribution system to realize unsurpassed medication inventory control across facilities.

"As an organization, we believe a great degree of integration is absolutely necessary for UPMC to offer high-quality care in a seamless and cost-effective fashion," says Edward Karlovich, chief financial officer of UPMC's academic and community hospitals. "McKesson's solutions clearly support that underlying objective and will help us to improve processes and reduce administrative expenses. McKesson is a partner that provides the breadth and scope of solutions and service we need for an organization of our size."

The EMR initiative will create simultaneous access to patient charts across UPMC's facilities, enabling physicians to sign charts electronically, support concurrent and remote coding of charts, and ultimately improve staff communication and productivity while enhancing the patient experience. UPMC will implement Horizon Patient Folder in administrative areas to transform paper-based hospital information management (HIM) departments into more efficient e-HIM® environments. McKesson's Horizon Business Folder(TM) application was selected for UPMC's business offices to improve the speed and accuracy of claims preparation with the goal of reducing claim denials and secondary billing efforts. Rounding out the solution, Imaging Link Engine(TM) software will be implemented at patient registration areas to enhance operational efficiency, further diminish the use of paper and expedite the patient registration process.

For its pharmacy initiative, UPMC selected the MedCarousel and Fulfill-Rx applications to supplement its use of McKesson's ROBOT-Rx® centralized robotic drug distribution system and AcuDose-Rx(TM) medication dispensing cabinets at its Presbyterian and Shadyside hospitals. MedCarousel will replace manual medication dose picking and automate cabinet inventory and restocking processes. Working in tandem with the ROBOT-Rx system and other McKesson automation solutions, the MedCarousel implementation sets the stage for UPMC to centralize inventory management across its enterprise as a step to deliver significant cost savings.

"Academic institutions such as UPMC continue to turn to McKesson for solutions that address the needs of a large-scale enterprise, while enhancing the quality, safety and efficiency of patient care," said Pamela Pure, president of McKesson Provider Technologies. "We are pleased UPMC has selected our market-leading imaging and automation solutions and look forward to building on our long-standing and successful track record of supporting this premier health system in its healthcare mission."

About UPMC

UPMC is the premier health system in western Pennsylvania and one of the most renowned academic medical centers in the United States. During the past decade, UPMC has reshaped the healthcare landscape in western Pennsylvania. As a $5 billion organization and the region's largest employer, it has transformed the economic landscape as well. Today, with 40,000 employees, UPMC comprises 19 hospitals and a network of other care sites across a 29-county service area: doctors' offices, cancer centers, outpatient treatment centers, specialized imaging and surgery facilities, in-home care, rehabilitation sites, behavioral healthcare, and nursing homes.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 15th on the FORTUNE 500, is a 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 173-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: http://mpt.mckesson.com .