IMS Health and International Pharmaceutical Federation Announce Award Recipients at 65th World Congress of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences.

CAIRO, Egypt -- Prize Winners Demonstrate That Stronger Collaboration Between Pharmacists and Physicians Leads to Better Patient Care

Better patient care requires stronger collaboration between the pharmacist and physician as well as a more comprehensive approach to patient treatment, according to research recognized by the IMS & FIP CPS Prize, a global awards program sponsored by IMS Health (NYSE: RX) and The Community Pharmacy Section of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP CPS). Recipients of this year's prize, which honors original studies on how pharmacists can become fully engaged in patient-oriented healthcare, presented their findings today at the FIP 65th World Congress.

IMS is the world's leading provider of information solutions to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. FIP CPS supports community-based pharmacists by providing professional development programs relating to pharmaceutical care, pharmacotherapy, health promotion, communication and documentation.

IMS and FIP CPS selected three Prize winners, with two additional entrants receiving special awards:

--  Geovanni Vargas Solano, Costa Rica - First Prize

        "Pharmacy Service Plan of the William Allen Hospital,
         Turrialba"

    --  Jean-Marc Krahenbuhl, Switzerland - Second Prize

        "Development and Evaluation of a Medication Review Service in
         Community Pharmacies"

    --  Olanike Adedeji & Ukamaka Okafor, Nigeria - Second Prize

        "How Can Pharmacists be Fully Engaged in Patient Oriented
         Healthcare?"

    --  Ross Tsuyuki & Theresa Schindel, Centre for Community Pharmacy
        Research and Interdisciplinary Strategies, University of
        Alberta, Canada - First Special Award

        "Leading Change in Pharmacy Practice: Fully Engaging
         Pharmacists in Patient-Oriented Healthcare."

    --  Martin Schulz, Centre for Drug Information & Pharmacy
        Practice, ABDA, Germany - Second Special Award

        "Community Pharmacy-based Asthma Services - From Controlled
         Trial to Remunerated Pharmaceutical Care"

"Since 1998, IMS has sponsored a prize program to recognize the important role that pharmacists play in the delivery of healthcare," said Gilles Pajot, IMS President for Europe, Middle East & Africa. "Our program challenges researchers to explore how pharmacists can become more involved in patient healthcare, and to recommend ways they can prepare for this new role. This year's submissions were exceptionally noteworthy."

Though approaches and methodologies of the Prize winners varied, central to their findings was the need for better pharmacist/physician partnerships to treat the "whole patient," and additional training of pharmacists to expand their role in healthcare delivery. The Prize winners also concluded that bringing healthcare services directly to the needy and terminally ill, conducting regular pharmacist Medication Reviews of patient charts, and ongoing patient education could result in improved therapies, compliance and safety.

"We are pleased to partner with IMS to offer an award that encourages pharmacists to develop and share new ideas about their role in healthcare," said Avi Moshenson, president of FIP CPS. "The approaches and research offered many new insights on ways pharmacists can broaden their focus from dispensing products to more effectively serving the healthcare needs of patients."

The work of First Prize winner Geovanni Vargas Solano presented the patient benefits of forming a multi-disciplinary health unit to deliver services directly to an Indian Reserve in Costa Rica. Dual Second Prize winners Jean-Marc Krahenbuhl of Switzerland and Ukamaka Okafor/Olanike Adedeji of Nigeria affirmed the importance of regular pharmacist reviews of patient charts to ensure safety and compliance, and the need for ongoing pharmacist/physician communications to confirm patient understanding of prescription dosing.

Open to students, researchers or healthcare professionals associated with private or public organizations, the IMS & FIP CPS Prize is awarded only for previous unpublished works and university theses. Particular attention is paid to submissions that demonstrate originality of thought, methodology, analysis of the environment and constructive recommendations for the future. IMS and FIP CPS collaborate with the European Association for Pharmaceutical Law and Economics (EAPLE) to ensure objective evaluation of Prize submissions.

For more information about this year's Prize winners, please visit http://www.imshealth.com/fipprize and www.fip.org.

About IMS

Operating in more than 100 countries, IMS Health (NYSE: RX) is the world's leading provider of information solutions to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. With $1.6 billion in 2004 revenue and more than 50 years of industry experience, IMS offers leading-edge business intelligence products and services that are integral to clients' day-to-day operations, including portfolio optimization capabilities; launch and brand management solutions; sales force effectiveness innovations; managed care and over-the-counter offerings; and consulting and services solutions that improve ROI and the delivery of quality healthcare worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.imshealth.com

About FIP CPS

The Community Pharmacy Section of FIP is the largest of FIP's sections. Its aim is to improve the professional standards of pharmacy and to encourage the realization of the social aims of the profession as a part of public health and as a pharmaceutical service to the community. Furthermore, the section provides and exchanges information, which will assist in the coordination and improvement of the scientific, technical and professional activities of pharmacists in community pharmacy. Additional information is available at http://www.fip.org