OMNILINK INCREASES PROFITABILITY FOR PHARMACY NETWORK.

Serv All/SHA, the nation's largest member-driven, independent retail pharmacy network operated by SHA Management Corp., has endorsed the use of McKesson HBOC, Inc.'s (NYSE:MCK) OmniLink centralized pharmacy computer application by its more than 2,700 member pharmacies.

OmniLink technology provides real-time edits of cash and third-party transactions to increase pharmacy profitability and provides efficient data collection to drive managed care compliance.

"OmniLink empowers Serv All/SHA pharmacies to meet the needs of an ever-changing, newly connected, information- and performance-based retail pharmacy marketplace," said Ian Flynn, vice president, marketing, SHA Management Corp.

"Pharmacists will use OmniLink to perform pre- and post-edits for on-line confirmation of daily price updates and managed care requirements, resulting in significant cost savings. In addition to enhanced productivity and profitability, use of OmniLink by our owner pharmacists better positions them to proactively effect positive clinical outcomes."

According to industry sources, some form of a managed pharmacy benefit (MPB) covers 60 percent of the American public. As enrollment in MPB plans continues to grow, managed care is driving pharmacies to cut administrative costs. Savvy pharmacies are pursuing a new strategy working with patients to ensure proper utilization of pharmaceuticals, thus improving outcomes.

These proactive strategies coupled with formulary and disease state management and technological advancements are critical to the success of today's independent pharmacist.

"Independent community pharmacies have historically been a cornerstone of the pharmaceutical care distribution system for managed health care, and it's our strategy to use information technology to help them improve their performance and make them more competitive," said Tom George, executive vice president, Customer Technology and president of the McKessonHBOC Pharmacy Systems Division.

McKessonHBOC's OmniLink enables pharmacists to capture clinical information that can then be used for pharmacist-based patient care enhancing programs. OmniLink identifies patients who are overdue in getting prescription refills, taking specific medications on an ongoing basis, or taking medications with side effects for which there are over-the-counter remedies.

Patients can elect to receive personalized refill reminder letters, new information about their medications, and special offers for over-the-counter products for their condition.

"The ability of OmniLink to help pharmacists improve the quality and efficiency of pharmaceutical care is consistent with the managed pharmacy benefit trend to lower administrative costs and unit cost of prescriptions while improving proper utilization of pharmaceuticals and thus patient outcomes," Flynn said.

"We are pleased to endorse the OmniLink technology as the vehicle for performance-based pharmaceutical care on behalf of our independent pharmacy members."

Serv All/SHA is the nation's largest member-driven, independent retail pharmacy network, a virtual chain. SHA, a Serv All managed care pharmacy product, exists to enhance the pharmaceutical care offered to managed-care consumers at its 2,700-plus member pharmacy locations. More information about Serv All/SHA may be obtained on the World Wide Web at: http://www.servallgroup.com.

McKesson HBOC, Inc., a Fortune 100 corporation, is the world's largest healthcare services company. McKesson HBOC provides pharmaceutical supply management and information technologies across the entire continuum of healthcare, including market-leading businesses in pharmaceutical and medical-surgical distribution, information technology for healthcare providers, services for payors and outsourcing. More information about McKesson HBOC is available on the World Wide Website at: http://www.mckhboc.com.

For more information, call 614/751-0444 ext. 8305.