DUBLIN, Ohio, April 2, 2003 – Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) today affirmed its financial accounting treatment of a vendor overcharge recovery mentioned in an article in today’s The Wall Street Journal.

“Cardinal Health has a long-standing reputation for conservative accounting and financial transparency,” said Robert D. Walter, chairman and chief executive officer. “The implications made in the article’s two headlines and the assertion of improper accounting for a vendor overcharge recovery demands a response.”

“The article focused on Cardinal Health’s treatment of recoveries of claims in the second quarter of fiscal year 2001 and the first quarter of fiscal year 2002,” said Richard J. Miller, executive vice president and chief financial officer. “The amounts recognized offset a portion of prior period accounting costs that arose from overcharges by vitamin manufacturers. Cardinal Health takes pride in properly accounting for all transactions. The vitamin overcharge recovery was no different. The transaction was fully approved by Arthur Andersen, LLP, who were our auditors at the time, and was subsequently approved by our current auditors, Ernst & Young.

Miller continued, “The recording of this item was not a contingent litigation gain. It was the recognition of an asset related to expected recoveries for vendor overcharges in prior periods. Our assessment of the certainty of a minimum recovery, accepted by our independent auditor and supported by independent legal opinions, was sound and fundamentally conservative.”

“The two headlines selected for the article have implications that are inaccurate. The reporter raises one narrow accounting issue, but the headline erroneously suggests that there are ‘a number of questions.’ The continuing headline implies Cardinal Health is drawing criticism. Other than this specific reporter and the individuals he contacted, we are not drawing criticism. None of the individuals cited in the article contacted the company regarding our recovery of vendor overcharges. We responded to the reporter’s questions in an open and forthright
manner. We stand behind, along with our auditors, the accuracy of our financial statements in their entirety,” said Miller.

“Those who have followed our company for a long time understand the strength of our commitment to broad and open financial disclosure and honest accounting,” concluded Walter. “I have tremendous confidence in our reputation for ethical business practices and the rigorous internal review procedures we have in place to maintain our high standards.”

Visit Cardinal Health’s Web site (www.cardinal.com) for access to the company’s financial statements and further detail regarding the issue raised in today’s The Wall Street Journal.

ABOUT CARDINAL HEALTH

Cardinal Health, Inc. (www.cardinal.com) is the leading provider of products and services supporting the health-care industry. Cardinal Health businesses develop, manufacture, package and market products for patient care; develop drug-delivery technologies; distribute pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical and laboratory supplies; and offer consulting and other services that improve quality and efficiency in health care. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health employs approximately 50,000 people on five continents and produces annual revenues of more than $47 billion. Cardinal Health is ranked #19 on the current Fortune 500 list and was named one of ‘The World’s Best’ companies by Forbes magazine in 2002.

Except for historical information, all other information in this news release consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied. The most significant of these uncertainties are described in Cardinal Health's Form 10-K, Form 8-K and Form 10-Q reports (including all amendments to those reports) and exhibits to those reports, and include (but are not limited to) the costs, difficulties, and uncertainties related to the integration of acquired businesses, the loss of one or more key customer or supplier relationships, changes in the distribution patterns or reimbursement rates for health-care products and/or services, the costs and other effects of governmental regulation and legal and administrative proceedings, and general economic and market conditions. Cardinal Health undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.