Bergen Brunswig and VHA Southwest Partner To Improve Outcomes, Reduce Costs With Clinical Pharmacy Program.

ORANGE, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 18, 1998--Bergen Brunswig Drug Company (BBDC), a subsidiary of Bergen Brunswig Corporation (NYSE:BBC), today announced the signing of an agreement with VHA Southwest, Inc. under which the network of 75 Texas- and New Mexico-based hospitals will implement the full portfolio of clinical support services available through Bergen's Intelligent Drug Information (IDI) pharmacy program.

IDI, a proprietary program developed by BBDC, provides pharmacists with the clinical tools needed to manage a formulary and quantify their intervention measures, thereby contributing to a reduction in pharmaceutical expenses while positively affecting patient outcomes.

VHA Southwest is a component of the VHA nationwide network of community-owned health care organizations, which includes community hospitals and their physicians. The VHA Southwest agreement augments a one-year contract with the national VHA organization, which endorses IDI as the system of choice for its member hospitals across the country.

Specifically, IDI services to be implemented in the 29 regional hospitals comprising VHA Southwest include medication utilization evaluation, pharmacist intervention, adverse drug reaction and medication error monitoring.

"VHA Southwest is committed to improving outcomes and reducing costs through accurate utilization measurement," said Ed Wales, senior vice president of VHA Southwest, Inc. "With IDI, Bergen Brunswig Drug Company is providing the right set of tools for these purposes. We look forward to this new opportunity to provide our membership with customized outcomes improvement data which will assist them in meeting their goals."

Commented Brent Martini, president of Bergen Brunswig Drug Company, "We are pleased to provide this new, value-added service, which offers comprehensive programs and analyses, blending data systems technology with the expertise of clinically trained pharmacy professionals. In adopting the entire portfolio of IDI clinical services, VHA Southwest takes a leading role in the quest to improve patient care while reducing costs at a vital link in the supply chain -- the hospital pharmacy."

For more information on IDI services, call [phone].

Bergen Brunswig Corporation, a Fortune 500 company with annualized revenues in excess of $12 billion, is one of the nation's leading supply channel management companies. In addition to its diversified healthcare product offerings, the company offers innovative logistics management programs in pharmaceuticals and medical-surgical supplies to all healthcare venues. These programs are designed to help customers grow efficiently, improve cost-effectiveness and further support their focus on patient/consumer care.

This press release, the Company's Annual Report to Shareowners, and Form 10-K or Form 10-Q and 8-K of the Company or any other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of the Company may include forward-looking statements which reflect the Company's current view (as of the date such forward-looking statement is made) with respect to future events and financial performance. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those made in such statements. Such uncertainties and factors are more fully described in the Company's reports (and the Exhibits to these reports) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bergen Brunswig press releases are available at no charge through the company's Faxline. To receive a directory of available releases, call [phone] and follow the voice-prompt instructions. You may also view the Company's website at www.bergenbrunswig.com. For information about investing in Bergen Brunswig, please call the Investor Relations department at [phone].

CONTACT: Bergen Brunswig Corp., Orange

Lisa Riordan

Director, Investor Relations

800/840-5131