Medco Health Solutions, Inc.' RationalMed(R) Receives NCQA Disease Management Systems Certification

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., March 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Medco Health Solutions, Inc. , one of the nation's leading pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), announced today that it has received a Disease Management Systems Certification from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for its RationalMed(R) Patient Safety System. NCQA is an independent, not- for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare through measurement, transparency and accountability.

The NCQA survey that resulted in the certification included a comprehensive review of RationalMed's programs, operations and overall performance across six areas of focus: program content, patient service, practitioner service, clinical systems, measurement and quality improvement and program operation.

"Today's healthcare system provides patients with more physicians, more services and more therapeutic options than ever before; however, the system is fragmented, with gaps in communications between various providers, which ultimately affects the patient," said Dr. Glen Stettin, vice president, plan management, Medco. "RationalMed fills the gaps in communication and knowledge to improve patient safety and reduce the financial impact of unnecessary and preventable medication errors."

Leveraging Medco's clinical expertise, RationalMed systematically analyzes patients' medical, pharmacy and laboratory claims and self-reported data to identify drug safety issues, such as contraindications with another medication, contraindications with another condition, inappropriate dosage or duplication, and then alerts the patient's physician of any issues. In 2005, RationalMed identified 1.5 million drug safety issues that could have put patients at risk for hospitalization.

In addition to improving patient safety, RationalMed also generates significant savings for payors. In one year, RationalMed typically delivers up to 2 percent in total pharmacy savings and up to 3 percent in total hospital savings by identifying, intervening on and correcting prescribing errors.

"In achieving NCQA Certification, an organization is showing that it is committed to providing services that improve the quality of health care by providing better service and better information," stated Margaret E. O'Kane, president of NCQA.

"Earning NCQA Certification serves to further validate the role of RationalMed in improving patient safety," said Stettin.

The NCQA Certification standards are intended to help organizations achieve the highest level of performance possible, reduce patient risk, and create an environment of continuous improvement. The standards are developed with input from researchers in the field, the Disease Management Advisory Council (DMAC) and standing committees, employers, both purchasers and operators of disease management programs, state and federal regulators and other experts.

About NCQA

NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations and manages the evolution of HEDIS, the tool that the nation's health plans use to measure and report on their performance. NCQA provides health care quality information free of charge through the Web and media in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.

About Medco

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. is a leader in managing prescription drug benefit programs that are designed to drive down the cost of pharmacy healthcare for private and public employers, health plans, labor unions and government agencies of all sizes. With its technologically advanced mail-order pharmacies and its award-winning Internet pharmacy, Medco has been recognized for setting new industry benchmarks for pharmacy dispensing quality. Medco serves the needs of patients with complex conditions requiring sophisticated treatment through its specialty pharmacy operation, which became the nation's largest with the 2005 acquisition of Accredo Health. Medco, the highest-ranked prescription drug benefit manager on Fortune magazine's list of "America's Most Admired Companies," is a Fortune 50 company with 2005 revenues of nearly $38 billion. On the Net: http://www.medco.com.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward- looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this presentation should be evaluated together with the risks and uncertainties that affect our business, particularly those mentioned in the Risk Factors section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Medco Health Solutions, Inc.

CONTACT: Jennifer Leone, Medco Health Solutions, Inc., +1-201-269-6402,jennifer_leone@medco.com; or Janet Schiller or Melissa Mackey, both ofCoyne Public Relations, +1-973-316-1665

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