Leading hospitals across the U.S. rely on McKesson’s 340B Manager℠ to capture cost savings and improve operational efficiency for 340B program management
SAN FRANCISCO - July 11, 2011 - McKesson Corporation, a Fortune 15 healthcare-services and information technology company, today announced that McKesson 340B ManagerSM has helped U.S. hospital pharmacies save nearly $85 million during 2010, a 25% increase over the prior year1. McKesson continues to deliver consistent savings made available by participation in the 340B Program through 340B Manager to its growing customer base of 175 leading health-systems pharmacies, including university health systems and community hospitals.
McKesson 340B Manager simplifies and streamlines 340B inventory management, enabling pharmacies to maximize their drug savings opportunities, helping them to reduce their labor costs and assisting their efforts to comply with regulatory requirements that are associated with the Federal 340B Drug Pricing Program. Eligible U.S. hospitals, clinics and other health systems use the Federal 340B Drug Pricing Program to purchase pharmaceuticals at deeply discounted prices. The savings are intended to ease the financial burden these safety-net healthcare organizations experience as they serve low-income patients, the cost of which would otherwise be borne by the hospital. Yet many hospitals are discouraged from participating or don't maximize the savings under the 340B program because the regulatory compliance, management, auditing and tracking requirements are time and labor intensive.
"Increasing demand for hospital services along with reduced reimbursement are putting a strain on hospitals across the country," said Mark Eastham, R.Ph., SVP of pharmacy optimization at McKesson. "By partnering with McKesson, hospital pharmacies can maximize the savings opportunities that 340B purchases allow, support 340B program compliance and capture labor savings. McKesson 340B Manager helps pharmacies achieve higher levels of financial and clinical performance without passing on costs or absorbing the costs themselves."
Medical University of South Carolina Achieves Immediate Savings Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), like many hospitals, relies on the Federal 340B Drug Pricing Program to help them manage the cost of serving vulnerable and low-income patients.
"We estimate we will reduce purchasing costs by $1.4 million in the first year alone," said Christopher Fortier, manager of pharmacy support services, Medical University of South Carolina. "These savings will help MUSC invest in new initiatives that increase the efficiency of clinical functions and improve care for all patients." (See MUSC case study, "When 340B Savings Are Maximized, Savings Stack Up.")
McKesson Solutions Help Hospitals Care for Their Most Vulnerable Patient Populations According to the American Hospital Association's 2009 Annual Survey of Hospitals, U.S. hospitals contributed more than $39 billion in uncompensated or charity care to their patients. In many communities, hospitals act as a safety net, providing quality care and treating patients regardless of their ability to pay. McKesson 340B solutions can play a key role in helping them achieve this mission.
In addition to 340B Manager, McKesson provides a range of programs and services to assist with indigent care management:
- McKesson's Pharmacy Optimization team of pharmacy consultants is made up of industry
experts who work closely with health-system pharmacists to help them implement and realize the benefits of the 340B program. - The MedSourceSM replenishment program utilizes drug manufacturer patient-assistance
programs to secure free replenishment inventory for qualified patients. - The Pharmacy Asset Management program helps customers optimize their inventory and
purchasing management. - The 340B solution suite also includes a range of automated and IT solutions designed to
increase pharmacy efficiency and enhance patient safety. - The AccessHealth® expert service provides third-party contracting, payment consolidation,
online business solutions and customer service.
About the 340B Drug Pricing Program
The federal 340B Drug Pricing Program requires drug makers to offer substantial discounts on drugs used by the nation's safety-net hospitals and clinics to treat low-income patients in an outpatient setting. It also requires health systems to comply with strict regulations governing drug inventories for 340B patients, to help ensure that only patients of eligible providers take advantage of the discounted drug prices. Although growing in scope, the program requires labor-intensive inventory tracking and ordering and is often not implemented, even by pharmacies that are already eligible to participate in the plan.
Meet BoP℠. McKesson's Business of Pharmacy.
Currently helping more than 2,000 hospital pharmacies nationwide, the Business of Pharmacy (BoP) is McKesson's evidence-based approach to optimizing the financial, operational and clinical performance of hospital pharmacies. Harnessing McKesson's superior distribution, BoP extends across the entire business of hospital-pharmacy operations and provides the services and solutions to transform the pharmacy into a center of operational excellence that supports optimal patient care. For more information, please visit McKessonbop.com/.
About McKesson
McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 15th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit McKesson.com.
PR Contact
Contact Public Relations