Wolters Kluwer Health Reaches Agreement to Acquire Pharmacy OneSource

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 29, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolters Kluwer Health today announced that one of its wholly- owned subsidiaries has entered into an agreement to acquire Pharmacy OneSource, a leading healthcare Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider that helps hospitals manage the complex challenges of patient safety, compliance and efficiency. The transaction will allow Wolters Kluwer Health to extend its Clinical Decision Support (CDS) solutions into the hospital pharmacy market and will further strengthen the company's leadership position in the growing point-of-care market.

"Our acquisition of Pharmacy OneSource is part of Wolters Kluwer Health's business strategy to drive growth in the point-of-care market, which includes the critical area of the hospital pharmacy, where there is a strong need for resources and tools to drive compliance, greater patient safety and cost reductions," said Arvind Subramanian, President & CEO, Wolters Kluwer Health Clinical Solutions. "The combined product offerings of Wolters Kluwer Health and Pharmacy OneSource give us a strong, comprehensive portfolio of healthcare information and clinical decision tools for the pharmacy and accelerate our expansion in the point-of-care market."

Pharmacy OneSource, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington with approximately 100 employees, has developed a strong footprint in the hospital pharmacy market, currently working with more than 1,200 hospitals globally. Wolters Kluwer Health has built a strong business in the retail pharmacy sector with solutions that offer healthcare professionals fast access to evidence-based medical information that helps prevent costly drug errors and detect life-threatening drug-drug, drug-food and drug-allergy interactions.  The acquisition of Pharmacy OneSource will enhance Wolters Kluwer Health's ability to deliver a robust, comprehensive point-of-care offering to help pharmacies improve patient safety and compliance while increasing efficiencies across the hospital.

The deal will enable Wolters Kluwer Health to bring technology and evidence-based medical content to both hospital and retail pharmacies to help them with critical functions like medication tracking, pediatric dosing, drug interaction checking, managing formularies, documenting and monitoring clinical interventions, medication errors and adverse drug reactions via the Web or handheld computer, as well as managing checklists to facilitate accurate and consistent compliance reporting.

Both companies have strong relationships across the hospital, with Wolters Kluwer Health having built a strong portfolio of clinical solutions that are leveraged by physicians and nurses at the point-of-care, in addition to its pharmacy offerings. Leveraging Pharmacy One Source's relationships with hospital pharmacies, Wolters Kluwer Health can extend the reach of its point-of-care solutions across the hospital to drive greater access to evidence-based medicine, and ultimately, better care.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of year, subject to customary closing conditions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

For more information on Wolters Kluwer Health, visit www.wolterskluwerhealth.com. For more information on Pharmacy OneSource, visit www.pharmacyonesource.com.

About Wolters Kluwer Health

Wolters Kluwer Health (Philadelphia, PA) is a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health and pharmacy. Major brands include traditional publishers of medical and drug reference tools and textbooks, such as Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and Facts & Comparisons®; and electronic information providers, such as Ovid®, UpToDate®, Medi-Span® and ProVation® Medical.

Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company. Professionals in the areas of legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and healthcare rely on Wolters Kluwer's leading, information-enabled tools and solutions to manage their business efficiently, deliver results to their clients, and succeed in an ever more dynamic world.

Wolters Kluwer has 2009 annual revenues of Euro 3.4 billion ($4.8 billion), employs approximately 19,300 people worldwide, and maintains operations in over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect", "should", "could", "shall", and similar expressions. Wolters Kluwer cautions that such forward-looking statements are qualified by certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from what is contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, general economic conditions; conditions in the markets in which Wolters Kluwer is engaged; behavior of customers, suppliers, and competitors; technological developments; the implementation and execution of new ICT systems or outsourcing; and legal, tax, and regulatory rules affecting Wolters Kluwer's businesses, as well as risks related to mergers, acquisitions, and divestments. In addition, financial risks such as currency movements, interest rate fluctuations, liquidity, and credit risks could influence future results. The foregoing list of factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Wolters Kluwer disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SOURCE Wolters Kluwer Health