Cardinal Health, Sentry Data Systems Introduce New Technology to Help Health Care Providers More Cost-Efficiently Care for Underserved

    DUBLIN, Ohio, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cardinal Health today
 announced an exclusive alliance with Sentry Data Systems to deliver
 Web-based technology that helps eligible health care facilities implement,
 manage and meet the stringent compliance requirements of the federal 340B
 Drug Pricing Program.
     The 340B Drug Pricing Program offers drug discounts to help eligible
 hospitals and other federally qualified health care facilities provide care
 for the nation's underinsured and uninsured patients.
     Participation in the program can lower pharmacy costs by an average of
 24 percent(1). However, only a fraction of the more than 1,400 hospitals
 and 12,000 other eligible health care facilities are fully participating,
 primarily because managing program implementation and compliance can be
 labor- intensive. Entities that participate in the program are required to
 adhere to strict compliance measures to ensure the drug discounts are only
 claimed for drugs dispensed to eligible patients.
     "Many health care facilities would like to participate more fully in
 the 340B Drug Pricing Program, but staffing and compliance challenges make
 it difficult," said Scott Storrer, group president of Cardinal Health's
 Healthcare Supply Chain Services - Pharmaceutical business. "Our new
 offerings help hospital pharmacies fully automate 340B compliance to
 maximize medication savings and make it easier for providers to extend
 quality care in their communities."
     Through an exclusive alliance with Sentry Data Systems, Cardinal Health
 now offers Sentinel RCM(TM) and Sentrex(TM), the health care industry's
 only 340B solutions that are delivered via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
 model, which provides the benefits of commercially licensed, internally
 operated software without the associated complexity and high initial cost.
      - Sentinel RCM(TM) (Revenue Cycle Manager) automates pharmaceutical
        procurement and replenishment for 340B, wholesale acquisition and group
        purchasing organization contracts. It also tracks drug purchases,
        dispensations and billing across all hospital departments. Going beyond
        traditional inventory management to provide real-time integration of
        comprehensive data including medication purchases, patient, physician,
        dispensing and billing information, Sentinel RCM(TM) enables health
        care providers to identify all possible 340B drug savings opportunities
        - while also ensuring an end-to-end audit trail to facilitate
        compliance.
      - Sentrex(TM) provides all the functionality of Sentinel RCM, and also
        enables disproportionate share hospitals to further extend community
        care by extending 340B drug discounts to patients through outpatient
        and/or retail pharmacies.
     Sentinel RCM and Sentrex are built on a dynamic, rules-based engine
 that has been designed to comply with 340B rules and regulations, and with
 the covered entities' 340B policies and procedures. The technology
 interfaces with Cardinal Health's pharmaceutical distribution services,
 through standard electronic data interchange (EDI) connections and with
 leading pharmacy management and billing systems. For additional hospital
 pharmacy convenience, the technology also interfaces with key Cardinal
 Health products, such as Pyxis MedStation(R) automated medication
 management system, Cardinal.com ordering system and CardinalASSIST(R)
 automated pharmaceutical replenishment system.
     About Sentry Data Systems, Inc.
     Sentry Data Systems, Inc. is a market leading healthcare technology
 services company offering a wide range of products and services built upon
 its proprietary informatics platform. Sentry's flagship products, Sentinel
 RCM(TM) and Sentrex(TM), assist health systems with addressing a wide
 variety of pharmaceutical compliance, operational and revenue management
 challenges. Advanced audit mechanisms combined with detailed data translate
 into actionable intelligence for healthcare organizations, leading to
 reduced costs and safer outcomes.
     Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla., Sentry's Web-delivered
 solutions are sold via a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model,
 allowing organizations to reap the considerable financial benefits afforded
 by its products using a minimal hardware footprint. Learn more at
 http://www.sentryds.com.
     About Cardinal Health
     Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. ( CAH) is an
 $87 billion, global company serving the health care industry with products
 and services that help hospitals, physician offices and pharmacies reduce
 costs, improve safety, productivity and profitability, and deliver better
 care to patients. With a focus on making supply chains more efficient,
 reducing hospital-acquired infections and breaking the cycle of harmful
 medication errors, Cardinal Health develops market-leading technologies,
 including Alaris(R) IV pumps, Pyxis(R) automated dispensing systems,
 MedMined(TM) infection surveillance services and the CareFusion(TM) patient
 identification system. The company also manufactures medical and surgical
 products and is one of the largest distributors of pharmaceuticals and
 medical supplies worldwide. Ranked No. 19 on the Fortune 500 and No. 1 in
 its sector on Fortune's ranking of Most Admired firms, Cardinal Health
 employs more than 40,000 people on five continents. More information about
 the company may be found at http://www.cardinalhealth.com.
     (1) 340B Drug Pricing Program: Results of a Survey of Participating
         Hospitals, A Joint Publication of The NORC Walsh Center for Rural
         Health Analysis, Working Paper #2007-03 and The North Carolina Rural
         Health Research & Policy Analysis Center, Working Paper #90; May, 2007
 
 

SOURCE Cardinal Health, Inc.