ChainDrugStore.net Promotes Patient Education for Asthma.

Business Editors

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 25, 2003

ChainDrugStore.net, the online communications network for the $400 billion retail pharmacy industry, announced today an asthma education initiative introducing "A Guide to Differentiate Asthma Preventive and Rescue Medications."

This guide was developed exclusively for ChainDrugStore.net and its member retailers and suppliers by Dr. Allan Weinstein, a practicing allergist in Washington, D.C. and the author of Asthma: The Complete Guide to Self-Management of Asthma and Allergies For Patients and Their Families (McGraw-Hill 1987, Random House/Ballantine 1989).

ChainDrugStore.net's enrolled members include 140 retail chains representing more than $334 billion in annual sales in more than 33,200 stores. The network's current supplier base represents over $200 billion in annual sales in more than 60 product categories, and includes suppliers such as Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Fougera, GlaxoSmithKline, Lilly, Mylan, Novartis, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Procter & Gamble and Roche Laboratories. It is the goal with this initiative that manufacturers and pharmacists already connected by ChainDrugStore.net can coordinate with physicians to make a difference in asthma outcomes.

Asthma is a chronic condition that affects 20 million Americans, is the most common cause of missed school and work days in the United States, and leads to nearly 500,000 hospitalizations and 2 million emergency room visits each year. There are approximately 5,000 deaths a year from asthma, which is, for the most part, a manageable, reversible disease. "Clearly, asthma is a serious illness that requires careful management under a doctor's direction," states Dr. Weinstein. "However, the first step in asthma management is patient education."

"I am pleased that ChainDrugStore.net is able to provide this valuable tool on how to differentiate asthma preventive and rescue medications, particularly now when the asthma and allergy season is at its peak," stated Brad Mitchell, President and Chief Executive Officer of ChainDrugStore.net. "Ensuring this timely guide on asthma medications is available to our members through ChainDrugStore.net's online communications network is one example of how ChainDrugStore.net helps ensure that pharmacists, physicians and other members of our community have the information they need to serve customers and patients effectively," added Mitchell.

"A key problem is that patients often do not understand the distinction between medications that are preventive and should be used routinely on a daily basis to prevent asthma symptoms, and those that are rescue medications for use when asthma is out of control," states Dr.Weinstein. Statistics show that approximately 70% of asthma patients do not use a preventive inhaler. Patients on average order 6 rescue inhalers for every one preventive inhaler. Article after article reports that this faulty decision-making results in increased hospital and emergency room visits. As Dr. Weinstein notes, "One challenge in asthma education today is that by providing separate prescriptions for both types of medications, it is easy for the patient to become confused or misunderstand the doctor's intentions. Teaching about asthma prevention medications requires teaching about asthma rescue medications--namely, each must be taught in the context of the other."

Dr. Allan Weinstein also is Chairman of InstantDx, which developed OnCallData, a software system that allows doctors to write paperless prescriptions from any Internet-connected device and communicate directly with pharmacists in just seconds. In partnership with NDCHealth (NYSE: NDC), OnCallData recently completed the roll-out of electronic prescribing with the Giant pharmacy chain in the mid-Atlantic states and Kerr's Pharmacies in North Carolina. OnCallData is a certified solution provider of SureScripts, the gateway into the nation's 55,000 independent and chain pharmacies. SureScripts was founded by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). Information about InstantDx is available at www.InstantDx.com.

To view the Guide online, visit https://www.chaindrugstore.net/ir?CID=C6475&ET=GH.

For information on how your company can join ChainDrugStore.net, please contact Brad Mitchell, President and CEO at [phone] or [e-mail].

About ChainDrugStore.net. ChainDrugStore.net is the web-based communications network for the retail pharmacy industry. An innovative eBusiness productivity tool, ChainDrugStore.net provides manufacturers and retailers with new ways to build, sustain and enhance their trading relationships while increasing efficiencies and reducing costs. ChainDrugStore.net is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Functioning in the same manner as ChainDrugStore.net, CommunityDrugStore.net provides pharmaceutical suppliers and independent pharmacies with new ways to build, sustain and enhance their trading partner relationships in a cost-effective manner. The company is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. For more information please contact ChainDrugStore.net at [phone] or visit www.chaindrugstore.net.

About SureScripts. SureScripts was founded by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), which together represent the interests of 55,000 chain and independent community pharmacies in America. SureScripts is focused on improving the prescribing process and was created to promote and facilitate the widespread adoption of electronic prescribing by providing true electronic connectivity between pharmacists and physicians. SureScripts Messenger(TM) Services allows physician office technology to link directly to established pharmacy software and facilitates the secure electronic transmission of patients' prescription information between pharmacies and physician practices. SureScripts is working with the nation's premier health care technology vendors to create an open, secure, efficient system that is compatible with the major physician technologies and pharmacy software systems. More information about SureScripts is available at www.surescripts.com.