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, 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

Established in 1989, Medbuy Corporation is a Canadian healthcare Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) that supports the supply chain needs of our Members through innovative contracting and value-added services.

We are dedicated to maximizing value and benefit for Members, suppliers and the Canadian healthcare market. On behalf of our Member organizations, we leverage the collective purchasing power of more than 350 healthcare facilities to deliver new contracting opportunities, negotiate best value contracts for the purchase of healthcare supplies and services and provide day-to-day contract management, while also securing value-added benefits that grow our Members' knowledge base. Supply chain savings enable our Member hospitals and healthcare organizations to reinvest dollars where it counts - into patient care.

Canadian healthcare providers also have more supply choice with the introduction of MedAlliance Supply Chain Services Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Medbuy. MedAlliance offers multi-source, choice-based contracts to effectively manage supply costs in the areas of capital equipment, medical devices and implants, laboratory products and more.

For more information about Medbuy and MedAlliance, visit us online at www.medbuy.ca and www.medalliancecanada.ca.

For further information contact:

Medbuy
Leslie McGill
Chief Business Development Officer
519-652-1688 ext. 126
lmcgill@medbuy.ca

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