Cardinal Health Helps Hospitals Save More Than $20 Million In Pharmaceutical Costs; Connect Low-Income Patients With Affordable Medications

DUBLIN, Ohio, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As the nation's number of uninsured patients continues to rise, Cardinal Health is helping hospitals contain pharmaceutical costs by connecting their low-income patients with pharmaceutical manufacturer programs that offer free or discounted medications.

Many pharmaceutical manufacturers offer assistance programs that provide patients who meet specific requirements with access to free or discounted medications. When uninsured patients are enrolled in these programs, hospitals are able to reduce their overall drug spend by not having to absorb the cost of those patients' medications. Each manufacturer has different program qualifications and application processes, however, which can make enrolling patients difficult and time consuming for hospitals.

Cardinal Health's eRecovery Onsite service enables hospitals to completely outsource the process of enrolling uninsured patients in manufacturers' patient assistance programs, at no up-front cost to the hospital.

The company's eRecovery Onsite service saved participating hospitals more than $20 million on pharmaceutical costs in 2009 alone.

Many low-income patients experience unnecessary and costly repeat visits to the hospital because they cannot afford the prescription medications that can address their health issues. Hospitals that use eRecovery Onsite say that the program also enables them to reduce uninsured patient re-admission rates – and their related costs – because participating patients are better able to adhere to medication guidelines prescribed by their physicians.

"We know that, particularly during tough economic times like these, many uninsured patients have trouble maintaining good health because they can't afford their medications," said Steve Aragona, R.Ph., MS, MBA, director of pharmacy for Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) in Hackensack, N.J. "Cardinal Health's eRecovery Onsite service helps us fulfill our commitment to delivering compassionate, quality care to our community by helping thousands of uninsured patients access life-saving medications at little or no cost to them."

There are no start-up costs or staffing requirements for this service, and the program is designed to seamlessly integrate with each hospital's pharmacy and billing department processes. Cardinal Health provides the staff to manage all activities related to patient assistance program enrollment. The company also offers monthly, customized reports of pharmaceutical savings per facility.

Hospitals and clinics that use eRecovery Onsite from Cardinal Health can:

• Maximize drug savings by ensuring all qualified patients are quickly and efficiently enrolled in pharmaceutical manufacturers' patient assistance programs.
• Improve cash flow by recovering costs related to providing medications to uninsured patients.
• Provide quality, compassionate care to uninsured patients by helping them gain access to medications at little or no cost to them.
• Free up staff time by completely outsourcing all aspects of the enrollment process.
• Know that there is no financial risk involved in using the service. Cardinal Health charges no up-front cost or implementation fees. The company gets paid based on a small percentage of the pharmaceutical spend it saves participating hospitals.

"We've specifically designed our eRecovery Onsite service to be an easy, no-risk way for hospitals to extend compassionate care to uninsured patients without hurting their bottom lines," said Law Burks, vice president of marketing and product management for Cardinal Health's Pharmaceutical Distribution business. "This service is an excellent example of Cardinal Health's commitment to helping providers reduce health care costs while improving the overall quality of care they provide patients."

About Cardinal Health

Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a Fortune 18 health care services company that improves the cost-effectiveness of health care. As the business behind health care, Cardinal Health helps pharmacies, hospitals and ambulatory care sites focus on patient care while reducing costs, improving efficiency and quality, and increasing profitability. As one of the largest health care companies in the world, Cardinal Health is an essential link in the health care supply chain, providing pharmaceuticals and medical products to more than 40,000 locations each day. The company is also a leading manufacturer of medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid management products. In addition, the company supports the growing diagnostic industry by supplying medical products to clinical laboratories and operating the nation's largest network of radiopharmacies that dispense products to aid in the early diagnosis and treatment of disease. Cardinal Health employs more than 30,000 people worldwide. More information about the company may be found at cardinalhealth.com.

SOURCE Cardinal Health, Inc.