NEWLY RELEASED EDI ENDORSED BY AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOC.

First DataBank Inc., San Bruno, Calif., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Hearst Corporation, has released the latest version of Evaluations of Drug Interactions (EDI), their comprehensive drug interaction printed reference. EDI is exclusively endorsed by the American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA) and contains over 34,000 drug interactions, encompassing both prescription and non-prescription medications. EDI provides accurate and complete summaries of published clinical research findings on drug interactions. Over 900 professionally-written monographs each contain the title of the interacting drug by generic name and the severity coding of the interaction, as well as Summary, Related Drugs, Mechanism of the interaction, Recommendations and References. "EDI is the `standard' in pharmacy for drug interaction information," stated Joseph L. Hirschmann, president of First DataBank. "EDI's thorough, up-to-date monographs offer clinicians immediate access to in-depth, precise information on drug interactions." EDI is researched and written by First DataBank pharmacists. All monographs are reviewed by EDI's own Consulting Contributors who are selected by First DataBank from various pharmacy practice settings. Additional is provided by an independent APhA Review Panel to help ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of the information presented. EDI is updated six times per year. "The in-depth clinical information we present in EDI allows healthcare professionals to make better and more informed clinical decisions based on individual patient situations," said James L. Wilson, vice president of Marketing and Sales at First DataBank. "EDI is the most comprehensive resource available for drug interaction information." First DataBank's Drug-Drug Interaction Module (DDIM(tm)) -- clinically reviewed drug interaction information for integration into healthcare information systems -- provides page references exclusively to EDI so pharmacists can quickly refer to more in-depth drug interaction information. First DataBank, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hearst Corporation, develops knowledge bases and software for integration for the pharmacy, medical and nutrition marketplaces. These products are integral to virtually all segments of the healthcare industry, including hospitals, pharmacies, managed care organizations, insurance companies, physicians, dietitians and other healthcare professionals. For more information contact First DataBank at www.firstdatabank.com. For more information, call 800/633-3453.