McKesson Assembles National Forum to Strategize Solutions for Improving Performance in Oncology Care

McKesson, the world’s leading healthcare services company, will play a key role in the weekend along with its group purchasing organization (GPO), Onmark, which is facilitating its third annual National Payor/Provider Forum. The Forum, taking place today at the Westin St. Francis, convenes oncology providers, payors and pharmaceutical manufacturers to discuss solutions to improve patient care while controlling costs. The Forum features presentations by United Healthcare, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, CCE, the University of Texas Health Science Center and McKesson.

“With our 360-degree view of the healthcare landscape and our commitment to improving oncology care, McKesson is uniquely positioned to bring together a diverse group of key players to cultivate meaningful dialogue and mutually agreeable solutions for providing patients with the right treatment, at the right time and for the right cost,” said Patrick Blake, president, McKesson Specialty, a business unit of McKesson Corporation. “The Onmark National Payor/Provider Forum is an important step toward achieving the common goal of delivering affordable, equitable and high-quality patient care.”

Patient Access Underscores Need for Partnership Among Stakeholders

Increased and earlier diagnosis, as well as access to better treatments, has led to a dramatic shift in cancer incidence and mortality rates in the last decade. According to the American Cancer Society, the 5-year survival rate of all cancers diagnosed between 1996 and 2003 is 66 percent, up from 50 percent between 1975 and 1977. However, with more than 1.4 million new cancer cases expected to be diagnosed in 2008 and the National Institutes of Health estimating overall costs of cancer in 2007 at $219.2 billion, adequate access to treatment is a critical concern. These challenges herald the need for more effective business models, including pay-for-performance programs that are rooted in strategic partnerships between oncology providers and payors.

“While we’ve seen numerous advancements in cancer over the last several years, physicians and payors are now faced with the question of how to best deliver high-quality, cost-effective patient care in a rapidly changing healthcare environment,” said Mike Cunningham, Pharm.D., Onmark vice president and general manager. “We have long believed that effective payor and provider collaboration is key to the solution. We began in 2004 with a series of regional Forums, and the 2008 National Payor/Provider Forum is the third time we’ve conducted an event of this nature at the national level.”

Additional Activities

Several additional oncology-focused events are occurring in San Francisco throughout the weekend, including:

• Oncology Leadership Summit – A biannual summit hosted by Onmark and geared to forward-thinking community oncologists and practice administrators. The Summit will cover diverse topics including reimbursement policy updates, the move to oral oncology therapies and managed care negotiation strategies.
• CCE membership meeting – A national network of practice-owned, physician-driven community-based oncology practices will host its membership meeting to discuss evidence-based, best-practice protocols in the areas of prostate, leukemia and head and neck cancers. Paul Julian, executive vice president and group president of McKesson Corporation, and Patrick Blake, president of McKesson Specialty, are both members of the CCE Board of Directors.
• Fourth Annual Oncology Congress – An interactive continuing medical education (CME) conference providing the latest clinical data, best practices and new technologies that are directly applicable to the practice of oncology today. Onmark, a McKesson Specialty company, is a supporter of this event.

About Onmark

Onmark, a McKesson Specialty company, is the leading national group purchasing organization (GPO) for community-based practices. One of the largest GPOs in the community-based setting, Onmark has more than 2,800 members representing more than 4,700 physicians with over $8 billion in combined annual drug purchasing power. As a part of McKesson Corporation and through its strategic relationships with pharmaceutical companies and industry experts, Onmark provides its members with, access to a full portfolio of competitive contracts for pharmaceutical products, the lowest pricing available through McKesson Specialty, practice management resources, clinical tools and educational programs. For information about the products, services and programs available to Onmark members, visit www.onmarkservices.com.

About McKesson and McKesson Specialty

McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 18th 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 is the longest-operating company in healthcare today, marking its 175th anniversary this year. 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. The McKesson Specialty business unit, which includes OTN and Onmark, delivers services that manufacturers, payors and providers need to ensure specialty pharmaceutical products, coordinated reimbursement and clinical services are available to patients with complex diseases. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com.