Home > News/Media > News releases
Medicine Shoppe International And Merck-Medco Team Up To Provide Relief And Optimal Therapy For Patients With Stomach Conditions
Media Contacts:| Geoffrey
D. Fenton (614) 757-7871 |
Nancy
Schwartz (314) 872-5401 |
Investor Contacts:
| Debra
Dendahl Hadley (614) 757-7481 |
Stephen
T. Fischbach (614) 757-7067 |
DUBLIN, OH.,
-- June 23, 1999 -- Medicine Shoppe International, Inc., a subsidiary
of Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) the nation's largest franchiser of
professional community pharmacies and Merck-Medco Managed Care, L.L.C.,
the nation's leading provider of pharmacy benefits, announced today they
have launched a retail-based disease management program designed to provide
a comprehensive evaluation for patients with stomach conditions, or gastrointestinal
(GI) disorders.
The new program will
be piloted beginning in Dayton, Ohio, and then expanding throughout Ohio
and Kentucky. The program goal is to educate patients about their conditions
and encourage them to take an active role in their treatment. Program
components, which are offered free of charge to participants, include:
- One-on-one counseling
with registered pharmacists at participating Medicine Shoppe® pharmacies
to discuss patients' stomach conditions.
- Assessment of
symptoms to determine their severity and treatment options.
- Review of current
medications and confirmation of diagnosis in consultation with the retail
pharmacist and the patient's health-care provider.
Medicinne Shoppe,
Merck-Medco Program
- Appropriate testing,
with physician approval, to determine the presence of Helicobacter pylori
(H. pylori) - bacteria that cause peptic ulcer disease.
- Patient support
and education materials that are specific to the diagnosis, recommended
therapy, H. pylori test results, and lifestyle modifications.
- General information
about the prolonged use of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
or pain relievers such as aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen sodium, which
can cause peptic ulcers or aggravate existing GI conditions in some
people.
"We are pleased
to cooperate with Medicine Shoppe on this patient care program, which
signifies the first time in our history that Merck-Medco has embarked
on a disease management program at the retail pharmacy level," said
Paul Greenberg, M.D., director, Medical Policy and Programs, Merck-Medco
Managed Care. "We believe this program, which relies heavily on the
involvement of retail pharmacists, will help improve the quality of life
for plan members with gastrointestinal disorders and ensure they receive
the appropriate drug therapy for their conditions."
According to Dr.
Greenberg, the program also is designed to help reduce unnecessary costs
associated with stomach disorders and support physicians by providing
up-to-date information about their patients' symptoms. In addition to
making a positive economic impact, Merck-Medco hopes the program will
enhance the pharmacist-physician relationship by encouraging a team approach
to providing optimal patient care.
"Community pharmacists
play an important role in producing positive health outcomes for patients
while helping to reduce overall health care costs," said Gary M.
Levine, R.Ph., senior vice president of Medicine Shoppe International,
Inc. "This program with Merck-Medco is based on the premise that
the pharmacist is well-positioned to improve patient care by collaborating
with physicians in developing effective treatment plans."
Digestive diseases,
such as stomach ulcers or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), affect
more than 60 million people annually. According to the National Institutes
of Health, $107 billion was spent in 1992 to treat digestive diseases.
Most of the costs went toward direct medical expenses, such as hospitalizations
and physician visits. Each year, 10 million people with digestive diseases
are hospitalized and 1.4 million experience restricted activity, such
as being unable to work.
Patients are identified
for the program through an online clinical review of pharmacy data that
indicate when a prescription for a GI-related medicine is filled through
PAID Prescriptions, L.L.C., the retail pharmacy program manager for Merck-Medco.
Patient candidates are invited to enroll in the program by visiting a
nearby participating Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy. The patient program invitation
includes a Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy listing and a special incentive offer.
Medicine Shoppe,
Merck-Medco Program
Patient information will be shared with the Medicine Shoppe® pharmacist
only after a patient has signed a written consent form to participate
in this program. In addition, the program does not give preference to
or make recommendations on specific brand name therapies of any one manufacturer.
Medicine Shoppe International,
Inc. is the nation's largest franchiser of professional community pharmacies,
with more than 1,000 stores in the United States.
Cardinal Health Inc.,
a Fortune 100 corporation based in Dublin, Ohio, is a leading provider
of services supporting health care. Cardinal provides a broad array of
complementary products and services to health-care providers and manufacturers
to help them improve the efficiency and quality of health care. In addition
to retail pharmacy franchising, these services include pharmaceutical
distribution (Cardinal Distribution and National Specialty Services, Inc.),
health-care product manufacturing, distribution and consulting services
(Allegiance Corporation), drug delivery systems development (R.P. Scherer
Corporation), pharmaceutical packaging and repackaging (PCI Services,
Inc. and National PharmPak Services, Inc.), automated dispensing systems
manufacturing (Pyxis Corporation), hospital pharmacy management (Owen
Healthcare, Inc.) and health-care information systems development (Cardinal
Information Corporation). The common stock of Cardinal Health, Inc. is
a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
Merck-Medco Managed
Care, L.L.C., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., is the nation's leading
provider of high-quality, affordable prescription drug care, serving benefit
plans of employers, unions, commercial and government health plans that
provide benefits to more than 51 million Americans, including more than
14 million retirees. Merck-Medco Rx Services, its mail service pharmacy
subsidiary, serves patients through 14 state-of-the-art mail service facilities,
and its PAID Prescriptions, L.L.C., subsidiary manages prescriptions dispensed
at 55,000 community pharmacies nationwide.
Additional information
about the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy system is available at www.medicineshoppe.com.
Additional information about Merck-Medco is available on the World Wide
Web at www.merck-medco.com.
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 which could cause actual results to differ materially from
those projected, anticipated or implied. The most significant of these
uncertainties are described in Cardinal's Form 10-K, Form 8-K and Form
10-Q reports and exhibits to those reports, and include (but are not limited
to) the costs and difficulties related to the integration of acquired
businesses, the loss of one or more key customer or supplier relationships,
changes in the distribution outsourcing pattern for pharmaceutical products
and/or services, and the costs and other effects of governmental regulation
and legal and administrative proceedings. Cardinal undertakes no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
Feedback: Media relations
Medicine Shoppe International, Inc. is the nation's largest franchiser of professional community pharmacies, with more than 1,000 stores in the United States.
Cardinal Health Inc., a Fortune 100 corporation based in Dublin, Ohio, is a leading provider of services supporting health care. Cardinal provides a broad array of complementary products and services to health-care providers and manufacturers to help them improve the efficiency and quality of health care. In addition to retail pharmacy franchising, these services include pharmaceutical distribution (Cardinal Distribution and National Specialty Services, Inc.), health-care product manufacturing, distribution and consulting services (Allegiance Corporation), drug delivery systems development (R.P. Scherer Corporation), pharmaceutical packaging and repackaging (PCI Services, Inc. and National PharmPak Services, Inc.), automated dispensing systems manufacturing (Pyxis Corporation), hospital pharmacy management (Owen Healthcare, Inc.) and health-care information systems development (Cardinal Information Corporation). The common stock of Cardinal Health, Inc. is a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
Merck-Medco Managed Care, L.L.C., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., is the nation's leading provider of high-quality, affordable prescription drug care, serving benefit plans of employers, unions, commercial and government health plans that provide benefits to more than 51 million Americans, including more than 14 million retirees. Merck-Medco Rx Services, its mail service pharmacy subsidiary, serves patients through 14 state-of-the-art mail service facilities, and its PAID Prescriptions, L.L.C., subsidiary manages prescriptions dispensed at 55,000 community pharmacies nationwide.
Additional information about the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy system is available at www.medicineshoppe.com. Additional information about Merck-Medco is available on the World Wide Web at www.merck-medco.com.
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 which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied. The most significant of these uncertainties are described in Cardinal's Form 10-K, Form 8-K and Form 10-Q reports and exhibits to those reports, and include (but are not limited to) the costs and difficulties related to the integration of acquired businesses, the loss of one or more key customer or supplier relationships, changes in the distribution outsourcing pattern for pharmaceutical products and/or services, and the costs and other effects of governmental regulation and legal and administrative proceedings. Cardinal undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
Feedback: Media relations
