Medco Health Solutions, Inc. To Launch Government-Funded Electronic Prescribing Study In Cooperation With CMS

FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In an effort to advance high-quality, cost-effective patient care, Medco Health Solutions, Inc. and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have joined forces to launch a government-funded study of the impact of electronic prescribing on reducing medication errors and associated costs, while improving the quality of health care.

"Patients live in a digital age, but they're handicapped by an antiquated health care system. The time has come to ensure that the power and efficiencies of data and technology are brought to bear to improve outcomes and reduce costs," said John Driscoll, Medco's senior vice president of product and business development. "This collaboration presents an opportunity to identify the keys to advancing the adoption of e-Prescribing and the impact it can have on how health care is delivered in America today."

The study will evaluate the benefits of e-Prescribing through a two-year analysis of the Southeast Michigan e-Prescribing Initiative (SEMI), a broad collaboration between the nation's three largest automakers - General Motors, Ford Motor Company and DaimlerChrysler Corp. - BlueCross BlueShield of Michigan, Henry Ford Health System, Health Alliance Plan, and Medco. Launched in April 2005 as part of the partners' commitment to reduce medication errors, SEMI encourages physicians to write prescriptions on a personal computer or wireless device and send them directly to pharmacies for filling.

Study Details

The study, designed cooperatively between Medco and CMS, will look to accomplish four main objectives:

-- Determine the most cost-effective incentive program to increase use of e-Prescribing among physicians; -- Compare the frequency of adverse drug events between physicians who did adopt e-Prescribing and those who did not; -- Evaluate the relationship between the use of e-Prescribing and inpatient admission rates for prescription-related reasons; -- Summarize the costs of the program versus the economic benefits over a set period of time.

The study will examine success markers including the number of adverse drug interaction alerts associated with the adoption of e-Prescribing, the number of pharmacist-initiated telephone calls for prescription clarification associated with e-Prescribing and the rate of generic and formulary medication prescribing associated with e-Prescribing.

Electronic prescribing - the key to improving care

The use of e-Prescribing can create efficiencies in the delivery of health care across cost and safety spectrums. The use of such devices can identify medication errors at the point of prescribing through real-time drug utilization review and reduce unnecessary spending by improving formulary compliance and generic utilization through real-time patient-specific formulary information.

CMS has mandated that prescription drug plans must be capable of supporting e-Prescribing in order to participate in the new Medicare Part D prescription plan because of the patient safety and cost-saving benefits. CMS selected the SEMI study because of the concentrated Medicare-eligible population served by physicians in SEMI, and its ability to evaluate e- Prescribing and patient outcomes among the elderly.

"This study is a validation of the importance of the relationship between government and private industry in advancing the use of e-Prescribing," said Driscoll. "E-Prescribing is a valuable building block as we work towards creating an efficient, unified national health care information system that will improve the quality of health care, while also reducing the costs associated with its practice."

Physicians in Michigan still have the opportunity to join the SEMI program until Nov. 15, 2005. Interested physicians should call 1-800-722-8979 for more information or to enroll in the program.

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 health care 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 2004 revenues of $35 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 Caitlin Faulkner, CoynePublic Relations, +1-973-316-1665, for Medco

Web site: http://www.medco.com//