MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Medbuy Endorses Global Supply Chain Standards to Enhance Patient Safety, Reduce Costs

Toronto, ON - December 10, 2008 - In a move that will have a major impact on driving efficiencies and reducing costs in the healthcare supply chain, Medbuy and HealthPRO, two of Canada's most prominent group purchasing organizations, have affirmed their commitment to driving the adoption of GS1 global standards with their members. Global standards improve efficiency and visibility in supply chains, and will enable Medbuy and HealthPRO to advance their respective mandates for maximizing value and providing value-added services to their members.

"Working with our members to adopt global supply chain standards will help ensure that the right product gets to the right location," said Michael Foley, CEO of HealthPRO. "This will result in decreased supply chain costs, faster order cycles, and increased patient safety, generating significant value for both patients and hospitals."

While there are systems in place for most consumer products in Canada - from animal crackers to televisions - that enable bar codes or radio frequency identification (RFID) for tracking purposes, no such uniform system currently exists for medical products and devices. The adoption of GS1 standards will address this disparity, enabling products or equipment to be uniquely identified from the point of manufacturing through procurement and inventory management, right through to bedside scanning and reimbursement processes.

"We are pleased to announce our commitment to implement GS1 standards," said Rick Cochrane, immediate Past President and CEO of Medbuy. "Medbuy believes that resolution of inefficiencies related to data management through adoption of global standards must become an industry imperative."

"In addition to providing significant efficiencies and reduced costs, global standards support our healthcare professionals in the delivery of quality care; eliminating the need to re-label products within the healthcare system and enhancing patient safety measures through the capacity for product traceability," said Joan McLaughlin, Chief Supply Chain Officer and Director Support Services from St. Michael's Hospital. "We commend HealthPRO and Medbuy for their leadership in mobilizing this strategic partnership, which will advance our goals of providing patients the highest quality of care while maximizing value across the healthcare sector."

Mike Rosser, General Manager of Healthcare Materials Management Services also commented on the announcement. "This move represents an important step forward for the healthcare sector. The adoption of global standards will translate into significant procurement and administration savings for hospitals, enabling more money to be redirected to frontline care."

About HealthPro
HealthPRO is Canada's largest procurement services organization. Owned by and responsible to our member shareholders, we offer a comprehensive range of contracts for the highest quality products at the lowest cost, a benchmark product evaluation process and a unique policy of choice and flexibility. Current product and service categories include Pharmacy Services, Clinical Services and Clinical Specialties, Energy Management, Nutrition & Food Services, Special Services and On-site Managed Services.

About Medbuy
Medbuy is Canada's longest standing and most progressive healthcare group purchasing organization. We have partnered with health service providers across Canada to reduce the cost of healthcare supplies and services since 1989 and in that time have saved provincial health systems hundreds of millions of dollars. We provide the tools and strategies to manage costs in today's healthcare environment with an unwavering commitment to quality and patient safety. For more information, visit www.medbuy.ca.

For further information contact:

Medbuy
Lesley Cornelius
Director, Business Development and Marketing
(519) 652-1688 ext. 166
lcornelius@medbuy.ca

GS1 Canada
Sarah Charuk
Media and Communications Specialist
416-510-8039 ext. 2229
Sarah.charuk@gs1ca.org