More Than 11,000 Pharmacies Gain Ability to Access Centralized Pharmacy Application

SAN FRANCISCO--(BW HealthWire)--July 28, 1998--McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) and the American Pharmacy Alliance (APA), a consortium of pharmacy software system providers, announced today that they have signed an agreement under which APA will support its customer base of retail pharmacies in connecting to McKesson's OmniLink(R) centralized pharmacy information system.

OmniLink facilitates patient care enhancing and network compliance programs. In addition, OmniLink enables online confirmation of thousands of daily price updates and clarifies managed care requirements, generating significant benefits for the pharmacist.

Through this agreement with the APA, McKesson's OmniLink pre- and post-adjudication edits against third-party prescription submissions will now be performed by the APA's members' systems before a claim is submitted. This earlier processing of dispensings will result in even greater efficiencies for pharmacies. In the last year alone, more than 65 million prescriptions were processed through McKesson's OmniLink service.

The APA is a joint venture founded by 16 leading pharmacy computer companies that supply software and system support services to over 11,000 (about 40%) of the nation's independent and small chain pharmacies. The agreement between APA and McKesson enables pharmacies using APA systems to connect and properly process data through McKesson's OmniLink application.

"We are pleased to extend APA-member pharmacies the opportunity to connect to OmniLink, a pharmacy application designed to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve patient care," said Tom George, McKesson's executive vice president, Customer Technology, and president of McKesson Pharmacy Systems. "We are grateful to Bill Cobb, executive board member, and Karl Steele, chief operating officer of APA, for their extensive efforts which were key in the culmination of this agreement."

"The pharmacy system companies of APA are excited to respond to the requests of their pharmacy customers by supporting the OmniLink program," Steele said. "By performing OmniLink's edits at an earlier point in the dispensing process, APA and McKesson are able to provide their pharmacies with even greater efficiencies in their processing of dispensings. The results of these edits assist pharmacies in maximizing benefits from the fulfillment and reimbursement process."

Richard Datz, McKesson's senior vice president, Pharmacy Services, said, "This agreement is a true reflection of how the APA and McKesson can work together to facilitate access to products and services that are beneficial for our independent and small chain pharmacy customers. APA-members who sign up for OmniLink also will be able to access McKesson's Patient Care Enhancement Program and other pharmacy services that help increase patient compliance."

Steele added, "This agreement is consistent with the APA's objective to further the viability of community pharmacy by delivering technology solutions that help expand their value to patients and the health care delivery system."

The American Pharmacy Alliance, formed in 1996, is headquartered in Lexington, Ky., and provides and manages access to beneficial products and services for independent and small chain pharmacies, their customers, and software vendors nationwide.

APA member companies include BSI Business Systems, CRX Pharmacy Systems, Condor Corp., Cost Effective Computer Systems, Digital Simplistics, Etreby Computer Company, Health Business Systems, Interactive Systems & Management, MedE America, North American PACS, PharmAssist, OmniSYS, Opus-Core Corp., QS/1 Data Systems, Transaction Data Systems and VIP Computer Systems. More information about APA can be obtained on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ameripharm.com.

McKesson Corp., a Fortune 100 company, is the leading health care supply management company in North America through its U.S. Health Care businesses; its Canadian subsidiary, Medis Health and Pharmaceutical Services; and its interest in Mexico's Nadro. The company also owns McKesson Water Products, one of the nation's largest providers of bottled drinking water. More information about McKesson can be obtained on the World Wide Web at: http://www.mckesson.com.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These statements may be identified by their use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "may," "should," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" and similar words. Risks and uncertainties include the speed of integration of acquired businesses, impact of continued competitive pressures, success of strategic initiatives, implementation of new technologies, continued industry consolidation, changes in customer mix, changes in pharmaceutical manufacturer's pricing and distribution policies, the changing U.S. health care environment and other factors discussed from time to time in reports filed by McKesson with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release.

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