McKesson Selected by the California Department of Health Services to Run the State's First Disease Management Program

California’s legislatively mandated pilot is designed to test the effectiveness of providing DM services to Medi-Cal FFS beneficiaries with at least one of six common but costly chronic medical conditions. The goal is to improve the health of the program participants by helping them better manage their conditions while reducing the costs associated with their care. Eligible patients will be identified by the Department of Health Services, and enrollment is expected to begin in June 2007.

“With our headquarters in San Francisco, we’re particularly proud and excited about this opportunity to work with California’s Medicaid agency and the beneficiaries it serves,” said Emad Rizk, M.D., president, McKesson Health Solutions. “In keeping with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recently announced healthcare proposals, McKesson’s program offers ways to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare with a focus on self-management skills training and condition education for the recipients.”

The program will include from 16,000 to 22,000 Medi-Cal beneficiaries with one or more of the following conditions: asthma; diabetes; heart failure; coronary artery disease; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; and atherosclerotic disease (hardening of the arteries).

Medical experts widely acknowledge that all six of these conditions can be effectively managed but failure to do so often results in expensive visits to emergency rooms or long-term hospital stays. Hospitalizations –– many of which are avoidable –– are the single most expensive component of healthcare, consuming 33 cents of every U.S. healthcare dollar, according to the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality.

How the California Disease Management Pilot Will Work:

• California Department of Health Services identifies eligible patients
• McKesson’s California-licensed Registered Nurses and case workers enroll patients, gather pertinent information (anticipated to begin June 2007)
• McKesson medical staff works with patients’ physicians to reinforce and teach their care plan
• Personalized plans are developed and presented to high-risk/high-cost patients, including easy-to-understand educational materials
• McKesson nurses call high-risk/high-cost patients regularly to gauge health status and adherence to plan, answer questions, and provide advice and encouragement
• Nurses are available 24/7 to answer questions and provide medical advice to all patients
• Program’s effectiveness evaluated annually by team at the University of California, Los Angeles

To ensure that patients are being treated with the most current and effective clinically-proven therapies, McKesson’s disease management programs incorporate evidence-based medical practice guidelines. McKesson’s approach to DM is highly collaborative and includes working with the high-risk/high-cost patients’ physicians to complement the care already being provided.

McKesson consulted with a number of healthcare organizations in California when developing the pilot. In addition to regular phone contact, participants will receive easy-to-understand written materials in their choice of languages, including Spanish, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Armenian, Russian, Cambodian, Tagalog, Korean and Farsi.

Another innovative aspect of McKesson’s disease management program is its triage and care coordination services. Most disease management programs focus on proactive care and communication; McKesson’s triage services offer reactive support, as well. So, if patients have questions about symptoms, ailments or psycho-social issues, McKesson’s qualified nurses can help them determine the severity of their condition, regardless of whether it is related to their covered chronic illness.

About McKesson Corporation

McKesson Corporation, 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 174-year history, San Francisco-based 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.

CareEnhance is a registered mark of McKesson Health Solutions LLC.