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McKesson Unveils New Pharmacy Automation System that Leverages Drug Manufacturer Packaging

By retaining the original manufacturer packaging - widely recognized as the safest type - the new PROmanager-Rx system helps hospital pharmacies increase accuracy. In addition, pharmacists are freed from packaging and dispensing activities so they can play more integral roles on the clinical care team.

PROmanager-Rx will be unveiled at the 44^th Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) in Las Vegas. The unveiling event will be simulcast via www.PROmanager-Rx.com. The system currently is installed at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, part of the OhioHealth system.

"Automation of the picking process, improved safety, and increased staff satisfaction make PROmanager-Rx a big win for us," said Charles McCluskey, Pharm.D., director of pharmacy and pulmonary services at Riverside. "On the front end, we can order a pre-packaged product directly from a wholesaler, receive it, and immediately put it into our medication-use process with no need for repackaging. Because we have a check waiver in place from the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, we can improve patient safety at the same time we're minimizing pharmacist involvement in cart fill."

PROmanager-Rx is ideal for patient-centric filing, and directly supports bar-code medication administration operations. Bar-code-driven robotics scan every dose for the greatest possible safety and accuracy. It features sophisticated order processing and inventory management software to increase inventory turns, manage expired and returned medications, and streamline wholesale ordering.

PROmanager-Rx accommodates more than 90 percent of the oral solid medications that are in use and available from U.S. drug manufacturers today, including a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Unit-dose packages produced by SKY Packaging, a McKesson company, are certified for use in PROmanager-Rx. The SKY product line includes the most widely prescribed dosages and strengths in generic oral solid medications used by acute care, long-term care and institutional pharmacies.

"The combination of manufacturer packaging, bar-code scanning of every dose, and sophisticated software makes PROmanager-Rx the safest automated pharmacy system available today," said David Souerwine, president, McKesson Automation. "In addition to the highest levels of safety, this system also reduces the packaging burden inside the hospital, saving both time and money."

With its sleek design and small footprint, PROmanager-Rx is easily installed and supported with minimal changes to the existing facility. The system operates on McKesson's unique Connect-Rx software platform and complements McKesson's other bar-code-driven medication-use process solutions.

Through Fulfill-Rx^SM software, PROmanager-Rx interfaces with McKesson's pharmaceutical distribution system. Fulfill-Rx helps reduce drug inventory costs and associated labor with a two-way electronic data interchange between McKesson's pharmaceutical distribution centers and hospital automation solutions.

Also at the event, McKesson will debut the CytoCare Robot. Through automation, CytoCare improves the safety, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness of oncology IV admixtures in hospital pharmacies. This past August, McKesson became the exclusive North American distributor of CytoCare, made by Health Robotics. McKesson also will demonstrate its new Anesthesia-Rx medication dispensing cart that provides anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists with greater medication and narcotic control in the operating room.

More information about the PROmanager-Rx system, including background materials, images, video and audio interviews, is available in an online press kit at www.mckesson.com/promanagerrxnews.

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. McKesson has been in continuous operation for more than 175 years, making it the longest-operating company in healthcare today. Over the course of its 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 http://www.mckesson.com.

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McKesson Corporation
Yancey Casey, 404-338-2468
yancey.casey@mckesson.com