McKesson and Pharmacists Discuss the Future of Independent Retail Pharmacy at McKesson Pharmacy Strategies Conference

This year’s conference features an opening general session during which attendees heard from McKesson’s senior leaders on the company’s vision for independent pharmacy; a public policy forum featuring healthcare policy expert Dean Rosen; the Health Mart Annual Meeting and Health Mart University ^SM sessions; more than 30 continuing education courses; and a 200,000-square-foot exhibit floor showcasing the latest solutions for independent pharmacy.

“This year’s ‘Roadmap for Success’ conference theme reinforces McKesson’s commitment to providing independent pharmacies with the tools they need to not only secure their business’s future, but to chart a successful future for independent pharmacy,” said John Figueroa, president, McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical. “Whether an independent pharmacy owner is focused on improving their clinical practice, achieving greater operational efficiencies, running a more profitable front end, growing drug margins, or other business objectives, they’re going to find the winning solutions and best practices with McKesson — solutions they won’t find anywhere else.”

At the core of McKesson’s commitment to independent pharmacy success is its focus on distribution excellence – delivering the right products at the right time with a 99.998% order accuracy rate. Additionally, McKesson is focused on helping independent pharmacies chart their roadmap for success by delivering innovative solutions in three key areas: advanced technology solutions, sponsored clinical services, and retail best practices.

 Advanced Technology Solutions 

McKesson continues to expand its focus on delivering the advanced and unique technology solutions that enable independent pharmacies to improve operational efficiencies and free more pharmacist time for patient services.

•  McKesson Connect ^SM (See announcement, “McKesson Migrates 5,000th User to McKesson Connect ”) – McKesson announced the successful migration of 5,000 retail pharmacy users to its new Web-based ordering and communications portal, McKesson Connect  . Formerly known as Supply Management Online (SMO), McKesson Connect provides all the ease and ordering functionality of SMO, but has been significantly enhanced to provide pharmacies with a customized online experience that is relevant to their specific pharmacy operations. This means that each user — whether they are a pharmacy tech or a pharmacist — will receive targeted news and communication on a daily basis. McKesson Connect is a one-stop portal for pharmacists to: order pharmaceuticals and supplies; access real-time order and inventory status; receive the latest generics information; obtain customized recall and backorder alerts; review purchase history; read the latest industry and McKesson news; and learn about McKesson programs, products, and services.
• EnterpriseRx™ – The industry’s first next-generation Software as a Service (SaaS) pharmacy management system, EnterpriseRx , has grown rapidly since it was introduced for independent pharmacies at last year’s McKesson Pharmacy Strategies Conference. This week, McKesson is introducing new functionality for EnterpriseRx, including: a Health Mart-branded user interface and integration with Health Mart pharmacies’ Web sites via the EnterpriseRx Pharmacy Web Portal. Additionally, McKesson introduced the EnterpriseRx Reports Director, a business intelligence tool that provides independent pharmacies with sophisticated reporting and analysis capabilities to regularly assess business performance, trends, and efficiencies. EnterpriseRx Reports Director offers a number of modules, including for Accounts Receivable and Long-Term Care.
• Central Fill – Focused on delivering new capabilities for independents to improve operational efficiencies, McKesson announced this week that it is piloting a Central Fill solution with an EnterpriseRx-enabled independent pharmacy in Southern California. Central Fill can enable independents to aggregate prescriptions from multiple locations and move fulfillment to an offsite location, not only helping to free pharmacist time to focus on patient care, but to also help save pharmacies up to 25 percent in labor and inventory costs.

 Sponsored Clinical Services 

McKesson also continues to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to enabling independent pharmacy customers to strengthen patient relationships and tap new revenue streams through sponsored clinical services. McKesson’s sponsored clinical services today include manufacturer-sponsored adherence programs as well as payor-sponsored Medication Therapy Management (MTM) programs.

• Pharmacy-Based Adherence Programs – Last year,  McKesson launched its first adherence counseling pilot program, the McKesson Pharmacy Intervention Program, designed to increase patient adherence to prescribed drug therapies through a series of targeted, motivational interventions conducted at the pharmacy counter. Over the past year, pharmacies participating in the pilot were reimbursed by manufacturers for conducting five-minute intervention sessions with patients to improve their adherence to prescribed drug regimens. This week, McKesson is announcing some exciting results from this pilot. Pharmacies that counseled patients for a chronic COPD/respiratory drug therapy saw an average increase in refill rates of more than 36 percent through the fifth fill. Additionally, pharmacists who counseled patients who were on a 90-day smoking cessation drug therapy also saw nearly a 30 percent increase in refill rates.
  
  “The McKesson Pharmacy Intervention Program has opened doors for me to engage with my COPD/respiratory and smoking cessation patients and become part of their healthcare support network,” said Richard Walker, R.Ph. and owner, Palace Health Mart Pharmacy (Globe, AZ). “The reimbursable counseling sessions are not only a new source of revenue but are also helping my patients be more committed to their regimen, more effective in managing their therapy, and more loyal to my pharmacy.”

• Medication Therapy Management (MTM) – McKesson also announced exciting results from its MTM pilot program, which began in March 2008, with the Wisconsin Pharmacy Quality Collaborative (WPQC), a multi-organizational initiative led by the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin. Under the pilot program, participating pharmacies are using the McKesson MTM solution — composed of software and services — to deliver MTM services to patients, and receive reimbursement for these services from participating payors. Currently, more than 50 pharmacies in Wisconsin are participating in the program and earning as much as $800 per month in MTM reimbursements.
  
  “McKesson’s MTM services have made a big difference in the way I can help my patients,” said Sue Sutter, R.Ph. and owner, Marshland Health Mart Pharmacy (Dodge County, WI). “I now have the ability to truly help my patients navigate today’s complicated healthcare system, and have witnessed the positive effect this assistance has had on their overall health and peace of mind.”

 Retail Best Practices 

In addition to technology solutions and sponsored clinical services, McKesson is focused on providing independent pharmacies with retail best practices to help them drive more business through their front doors. From its Sunmark® private brand, to the FrontEdge™ Merchandiser Program, to the Diabetes Life Center, McKesson is helping independents provide the right products at the right price to their unique customer bases. On the back end, McKesson is helping independents maximize revenues through solutions like McKesson Reimbursement Advantage™, which can increase a pharmacy's net profit by hundreds or thousands of dollars in additional reimbursements each month.

 Health Mart®: A Complete Solution for Independent Pharmacy 

McKesson brings its flagship solutions together into one complete offering for independent pharmacy through its Health Mart franchise.  A leading network of more than 2,300 independently owned pharmacies, Health Mart is McKesson’s complete solution for helping independents achieve success with technology, sponsored clinical services, and retail best practices. Health Mart introduced several new programs for franchisees this week:

• The Health Mart Consumer Portal — Franchisees can create a customized online presence linked to Healthmart.com to give their patients access to refill reminders, online refill ordering, health and wellness information, and in-store promotions.
• Health Mart Purchasing Advantage — This program enables Health Marts to leverage their collective buying power to receive discounts from participating vendors on office supplies and shipping services.
• Health Mart Mystery Shopper — Through this program, mystery shoppers posing as customers perform specific tasks, such as purchasing a product or asking questions of the staff, and then provide detailed reports about their findings. This program can help provide Health Mart pharmacies with an objective view of their customers’ overall in-store experience.

 RxOwnership: Securing Independent Pharmacy’s Future 

Introduced one year ago, RxOwnership is a comprehensive service made up of self-serve tools, confidential consulting, and financing solutions, designed to support and guide pharmacists through the purchase or sale of an independent pharmacy. Over the past year, RxOwnership has facilitated the ownership transfer of more than 90 independently owned pharmacies, helping them remain independent.

“Over the past year, RxOwnership has provided free services for hundreds of independent pharmacies that want to identify potential buyers or sellers or simply create a plan for transferring ownership in the future,” said Bob Graul, ownership consultant, RxOwnership. “This is another example of McKesson’s commitment to securing the future of independent pharmacy.”

For more information on all of McKesson’s announcements from the 2009 McKesson Pharmacy Strategies Conference, please visit McKesson’s online newsroom at www.mckesson.com/newsroom .

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 15th 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. McKesson has been in continuous operation for more than 175 years, making it the longest-operating company in healthcare today. Over the course of its history, McKesson has grown by providing 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 .