McKesson's InterQual(R) Criteria Integrated With More Care Management Applications Than Any Other Clinical Decision Support Criteria Tool

McKesson Corporation, the world's leading healthcare services company and largest provider of clinical decision support solutions, has validated 14 Alliance Partners for the 2006 version of InterQual(R) Criteria. The validation process confirms an Alliance Partner's integration of McKesson's premier clinical decision support criteria into its care management application. The strength of the validation program has led to the integration of InterQual into more care management applications than any similar product in the industry. An additional six companies are expected to achieve validation.

Now in its 10th year, the InterQual Alliance Partner Program allows McKesson and its Alliance Partners to offer healthcare organizations streamlined access to the industry's most respected clinical content and evidence-based criteria designed to help improve care management efficiency and optimize care for patients. McKesson develops and maintains these partnerships with leading healthcare solution providers to ensure that healthcare organizations have a full spectrum of options for integrating InterQual Criteria into care management workflows.

Integrations designed by the following organizations have already been validated for InterQual 2006: 3M(TM) Company, ACS Midas+, Canopy Systems /A4 Health Systems, Cogent Integrated Solutions, DST Health Solutions, Inc., Electronic Data Systems Corp., Epic Systems Corporation, Extended Care Information Network, Inc. (ECIN), IMA Technologies Corp., Landacorp, Inc., Morrisey Associates, Inc., PICIS, Inc., SoftMed Systems, Inc. and TCS Healthcare Technologies.

The Alliance Partners undergo a rigorous and well-refined certification process to validate the integration of their applications with CareEnhance(R) Review Manager, McKesson's browser-based software providing access to the spectrum of InterQual clinical content. Upon completion, McKesson certifies each partner for the latest annual release of InterQual Criteria, and Alliance Partners are then responsible for installing, supporting and maintaining the integration of InterQual Criteria and CareEnhance Review Manager for their customers.

"Thirty years ago, the InterQual product line was founded on the belief that medical evidence is at the heart of sound medical care," said A. Jacqueline Mitus, M.D., senior vice president of product strategy and operations at McKesson Health Solutions. "We have never wavered from this belief, and the industry has clearly acknowledged that we have succeeded in delivering the premier tool for helping care managers apply medical evidence in practical ways integrated within their everyday workflow."

More than 3,500 health plans, hospitals, academic medical centers, government agencies and care management organizations serving more than 100 million people currently use InterQual evidence-based tools to support clinical decisions for individual patients across the continuum of care. The product's unmatched breadth and clinical strength -- including its rich research base, care facilitation features, integration of quality indicators and care management notes -- has made InterQual Criteria the world's most respected evidence-based medical solution for care management decision-making.

About McKesson Corporation

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK), currently ranked 16th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes and improving the quality and safety of patient care. Over the course of its 173-year history, McKesson has grown to provide pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients. For more information, visit us at www.mckesson.com.