McKesson launches new products and services at its trade show

At its annual trade show in Las Vegas this week, McKesson Corp., which is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year, announced several new programs:

• The McKesson RxOwnership helps independents buy or sell a pharmacy. Led by Bob Graul, a member of the California board of pharmacy and an independent who sold his pharmacy recently, this service is open to pharmacists regardless of whether they use McKesson as a distributor.
• Enterprise Rx is a new Web-based pharmacy management system that covers the entire prescription filling process. It centralizes databases and drug updates and provides independents with the support needed to streamline their administrative tasks.
• Pharmacy Intervention Pilot uses participating McKesson Health Mart pharmacists to counsel patients to improve drug compliance. Medications involved in the pilot are Chantix (varenicline, Pfizer) for smoking cessation and Spiriva HandiHaler (tiopropium inhalation powder, Boehringer Ingelheim) for chronic obstructuve pulmonary disease.
• Health Mart University offers franchisees a selection of accredited courses to help them improve the way they run their pharmacy.
• Parata Max and Parata Mini are pharmacy automation systems designed to support once-daily maintenance, reduce bottlenecks, and decrease staff support needs.