ChainDrugStore.net to Deploy OnFormulary Across Pharmacy Communications Network (8/13/2007)

ChainDrugStore.net will integrate OnFormulary, the leading health plan formulary management tool, into its web-based communications network that links pharmacies with more than 200 manufacturing and managed care organizations.

“By integrating OnFormulary into our messaging system, we are able to provide our pharmacies with the comprehensive information they need to make informed purchasing decisions based on formulary changes announced by the manufacturers that utilize our service,” said Todd Grover, President and CEO, ChainDrugStore.net, located in Booth 859 at the NACDS Pharmacy & Technology Conference. “In many cases, formularies drive purchasing decisions, and the addition of OnFormulary to our messaging platform will ensure retailers have all the data they need to determine what, if any, alterations need to be made in their buying patterns.”

Under the agreement, when a manufacturer sends a message across the ChainDrugStore.net communication network regarding a specific drug, such as a new tier designation on a particular health plan formulary, a link will be embedded that will take the recipient directly to the relevant information within OnFormulary. This allows the pharmacy operator to see not only the changes to the formulary in question, but also formulary information on that drug across all plans within the pharmacy’s coverage area.

OnFormulary, which was jointly developed by Gold Standard and MedKeeper, is a web-based reference tool designed to save time and money by providing real-time access to comprehensive, up-to-date health plan formulary information from more than 4,000 health plans, including state Medicaid and Medicare Part D, which encompass more than 95 percent of insured patients. Using simple drop-down navigation, users can select the state and plan name, then search for brand and generic drugs by full or partial name or Therapeutic Drug Class to determine tier status.

Other features available to OnFormulary subscribers include:

Legends and notes for prior authorization and step therapy requirements, quantity limits, etc.

Filters to view only on-formulary drugs, or only state Medicaid and Medicare Part D formulary drugs

Identification of look- and sound-alike drug names

Optional subscription-based access to clinically-relevant drug information from Clinical Pharmacology, Gold Standard’s award-winning electronic drug information and medication management reference

A standardized, comprehensive formulary data set for integration into healthcare applications such as electronic health and/or medical records

“Like Gold Standard, ChainDrugStore.net strives to provide pharmacies with comprehensive, high-quality information and innovative technology and research tools to help streamline operations, increase efficiencies and reduce costs,” said Marianne Messer, Executive Vice President of Sales and Corporate Development, Gold Standard. “By incorporating OnFormulary into their messaging platform, ChainDrugStore.net is providing retail pharmacy operators with convenient access to the timely formulary information they need to drive purchasing decisions.”

ChainDrugStore.net (www.chaindrugstore.net) provides an online communication network through which manufacturers, managed care organizations, pharmacies and regulatory agencies can communicate and aggregate pharmacy-critical product information. Currently, more than 48,000 pharmacies rely on ChainDrugStore.net to provide them with access to the information and analytics they need to manage a profitable business. The network’s current supplier base manufactures the products that comprise more than 50 percent of all prescriptions filled in North America.

ChainDrugStore.net also utilizes Alchemy, Gold Standard’s sophisticated clinical decision support engine that combines comprehensive drug data and a relational database with an intuitive, flexible architecture, allowing for seamless integration into any application and system. The network’s success with Alchemy played a key role in its decision to integrate OnFormulary, which should be fully implemented by mid-September.

“There are a number of data sources on the market today, but the success we have experienced with Alchemy, coupled with the high level of trust we have in the quality of Gold Standard’s products and services, made OnFormulary the natural choice to enhance our messaging service,” said Grover.

About ChainDrugStore.net Inc.

ChainDrugStore.net is the link to pharmacy – an online communications network that manufacturers, managed care organizations, pharmacies and regulatory agencies use to communicate and aggregate pharmacy critical product information.

About Gold Standard Inc.

Based in Tampa, Gold Standard is a leading developer of drug information databases, software and clinical information solutions. The Company’s products are developed by a staff of highly trained professionals with extensive experience in pharmacy practice, electronic publishing and software development. Customers include more than 1,000 hospitals, the nation’s largest retail pharmacy chains and consultant pharmacy organizations, state and federal agencies, the country’s top pharmacy and medical schools, leading health information websites, and hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals and consumers worldwide. Gold Standard’s parent company, Elsevier (www.elsevier.com), is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services with more than 7,000 employees in over 70 offices across 24 countries. To learn more about Gold Standard, visit www.goldstandard.com or call (800) 375-0943.