Medco Health Solutions

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Medco Health Solutions, Inc (NYSE: MHS) is a leading health care company, serving the needs of more than 60 million people. Medco provides pharmacy services for private and public employers, health plans, labor unions and government agencies of all sizes, and for individuals served by Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans. Through its Medco Therapeutic Resource Centers and the Accredo Health Group, Medco’s Specialty Pharmacy, the company provides services for the care of patients with chronic and complex conditions. Medco is a leader in the emerging field of personalized medicine and in applying evidence-based protocols to elevate the practice of pharmacy –a key element in reforming America’s health care system. Medco is ranked number 51 on the Fortune 500 list, with 2008 revenues of more than $51 billion.

Medco became an independent in August 2003.^[1] As a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc, the company was known as Merck-Medco Managed Care, L.L.C; before that it was Medco Containment Services, Inc. Medco is a member of the S&P 500. It was named one of Fortune magazine’s 2008 World's Most Admired Companies, ranking No. 1 in the Healthcare: Pharmacy and Other Services sector for the second consecutive year.

Medco’s mail-order business, which generated $22 billion in 2008 net revenues, is one of the largest pharmacy operations in the United States. Medco managed 586 million prescriptions in 2008, including 105.8 million prescriptions dispensed at its mail-order pharmacies – significantly more than the number of prescriptions dispensed by the mail-order operations of its two largest PBM competitors. Medco operates nine mail-order pharmacies and six call center pharmacies, and it partners with a nationwide network of approximately 60,000 retail pharmacies. Medco’s automated pharmacies located in Las Vegas and Willingboro, NJ, together have the capacity to fill more than 2 million prescriptions per week. Medco commenced construction of a third, next-generation automated dispensing pharmacy in Whitestown, Indiana, which is expected to be operational by late 2009. Medco holds 27 U.S. patents for patient data management, front-end pharmacy technology and automated pharmacy technology.

In 2004 Medco settled a lawsuit brought by 20 states alleging that they failed to disclose incentives they received from drug companies and improperly switched or pressured doctors to switch patient's medication in pursuit of profit. ^[2]

In 2005 Medco acquired Accredo Health for $2.2 billion^[3], a large specialty pharmaceutical operation, including a division that Accredo Health purchased from Gentiva Health Services in 2002.

In 2007 Medco acquired Polymedica Corporation, a leading source for diabetes services and supplies with its consumer brand Liberty Medical^[4].

In April 2008, Medco acquired a majority interest in Europa Apotheek Venlo B.V., a privately held company based in the Netherlands that provides clinical health care and mail-order pharmacy services in Germany and the Netherlands, and in March 2008, Medco launched a collaboration with Sweden’s government-operated retail pharmacy authority, Apoteket, to develop and test the first automated electronic prescription review system to improve clinical and financial outcomes for Swedish patients and the country’s health care system.

References

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External links

• Medco Corporate Website
• Europa Apotheek Venlo Website