Baptist Expands Contract with McKesson

Contact: Robby Channell, 601-968-5135 rchannell@mbhs.org

Jackson, Miss. and Pittsburgh, PA- March 10, 2004-- Baptist Medical Center has expanded its relationship with McKesson Corporation, the world's leading healthcare services company, by awarding the company a multi-year contract to provide medication-dispensing automation equipment for its 640-bed community hospital.

Baptist, a McKesson customer since the 1980s, separately extended its contract with McKesson for pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply services. The contract expands the long/standing partnership that includes a wide range of information technology solutions to manage the hospital's clinical and financial operations.

Under the new agreement, McKesson will provide a full suite of automation products and services to enhance patient safety and support Baptist's central pharmacy and nursing units. Included in this agreement is McKesson's industry-leading centralized pharmacy robotics system, ROBOT-Rx™. McKesson will also install unit-based medication cabinets; bar code packaging technologies and services; medication storage and retrieval systems; controlled substances inventory management systems; and automated medication order communication systems.

The automation offerings work in concert with McKesson's closed-loop medication distribution system and centralized pharmacy information system to improve quality, efficiency and patient safety, while effectively managing costs. By offering these applications, integrated on one software platform, McKesson makes it possible for the products to provide real-time safety benefits and reporting.

"Over the years, McKesson has proved to be a valuable partner to Baptist, providing systems and products that help enhance the care we deliver to patients as well as improve our bottom line," said Kurt W. Metzner, chief executive officer of Baptist Health Systems. "We are proud of our history and strong relationship with McKesson and we look forward to working with them to continually improve our healthcare delivery systems," he added.

McKesson's medication management systems electronically track a patient's prescription history, drug dosing, dispensing and administrations to prevent misidentifications, potential drug interactions and medication errors. As a result, Baptist clinicians are able to spend more time in direct patient contact and care, instead of time-consuming administrative tasks.

"We are very pleased to be working with Baptist as part of a solution that provides benefit across the hospital," said David Souerwine, President of McKesson Automation Inc. "We believe this is a great example of how technology can play a role in helping facilities with both their patient care objectives and fiscal responsibilities.

According to Souerwine, McKesson is the only single-source provider that combines automation, verification and information technology to help caregivers prevent errors at every step of the medication use process - from the physician order to the time it is administered to the patient to subsequent monitoring. Nearly 1,000 healthcare organizations nationwide utilize one or more components of McKesson's closed-loop medication management solution.

About Baptist Health Systems
Baptist Health Systems is the parent company of Baptist Medical Center and a number of related healthcare services and programs. From its beginnings in 1911, Baptist has grown to include a 642-bed medical center, along with a variety of health and medical services for people in every stage of life. A 15-member volunteer board of trustees, consisting of top-echelon leaders in business, medicine, and other professions guides Baptist Health Systems. Baptist's mission is to serve the community through continuously improving quality medical care and effective use of education and technology in a personal and compassionate environment. Through the decades, Baptist has continued to provide quality, compassionate Christian-based medical care to the people of Mississippi and surrounding states. Visit Baptist on the web at www.mbhs.org. For more information contact the Baptist Health Line at 1-800-948-6262 or 948-6262.

About McKesson
McKesson Corporation is a Fortune 20 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 170-year history, McKesson has grown by providing pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, 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.

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