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December 18, 2013

AmerisourceBergen Enhances Partnership with Good Neighbor Pharmacy Network to Improve CMS Star Measure Results

Valley Forge, Pa. -- AmerisourceBergen Corporation today announced a CMS Star measure improvement initiative for members of the Good Neighbor Pharmacy network, a group of more than 3,200 independent pharmacies across the nation.

“CMS has been evaluating health plans on Star measures for years. The shift in the healthcare industry to performance-based care has made a plan’s star rating a critical factor for the community pharmacy, especially since five of the performance measures, 48% of the total Part D star rating, are related to medication management,” said AJ Caffentzis, Senior Vice President at AmerisourceBergen. “AmerisourceBergen is committed to the success of community pharmacy and is proud to provide this critical educational initiative to our Good Neighbor Pharmacy members. This is the latest example of how AmerisourceBergen is shaping healthcare delivery.”

The CMS Star measure improvement initiative includes an agreement with Pharmacy Quality Solutions, Inc. to bring EQuIPP™ to Good Neighbor Pharmacy members. EQuIPP™ (Electronic Quality Improvement Platform for Plans and Pharmacies) is a national platform for medication-related quality measurement, benchmarking and collaboration amongst health plans, prescription benefit managers and community pharmacies. EQuIPP™ aggregates data from multiple health plans and pharmacies to measure the quality of medication use, including non-adherence, and makes this measurement available to all participants. By serving as a neutral intermediary for quality measurement and benchmarking, EQuIPP™ enables pharmacies and health plans to focus on improving the quality and safety of medication use.

In addition, the improvement initiative includes a CMS Star measure educational series offered to members of Good Neighbor Pharmacy. The series, occurring in dozens of locations, imparts the latest knowledge from AmerisourceBergen experts on why Star measures are now important for community pharmacies and how pharmacies can improve their rating, passed through health plans. A national educational roadshow is also planned in partnership with Dr. Tripp Logan, a community practice pharmacist and owner of Logan & Seiler, Inc. in Charleston, Missouri. Dr. Logan is also co-developer and co-owner of MedHere Today, a medication adherence and star rating consulting group. Dr. Logan is a member of the Good Neighbor Pharmacy network and is an expert on the CMS Star measure system’s impact on community pharmacy.

“We are excited to bring EQuIPP to the thousands of pharmacies in the Good Neighbor Pharmacy,” said David Nau, President of Pharmacy Quality Solutions. “It is clear that the leadership of Good Neighbor Pharmacy is committed to helping their pharmacies track the quality of their patient-care services and continually strive to achieve the highest standards of pharmacy quality in the country.”

For more information on EQuIPP, go to www.EQuIPP.org

About AmerisourceBergen
AmerisourceBergen is one of the largest global pharmaceutical sourcing and distribution services companies, helping both healthcare providers and pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers improve patient access to products and enhance patient care. With services ranging from drug distribution and niche premium logistics to reimbursement and pharmaceutical consulting services, AmerisourceBergen delivers innovative programs and solutions across the pharmaceutical supply channel. With nearly $100 billion in annualized revenue, AmerisourceBergen is headquartered in Valley Forge, PA, and employs approximately 13,000 people. AmerisourceBergen is ranked #32 on the Fortune 500 list. For more information, go to www.amerisourcebergen.com.

About Good Neighbor Pharmacy Network
Good Neighbor Pharmacy is a national network of more than 3,200 independent community pharmacies. Our mission is to provide communities with options when it comes to their healthcare needs, along with the personalized service, affordable products and care that only an independent community pharmacy can delivery. Good Neighbor Pharmacy is a program by AmerisourceBergen Corporation, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. For more information, go to GoodNeighborPharmacy.com.

About Pharmacy Quality Solutions
Pharmacy Quality Solutions (PQS) is a joint venture of the Pharmacy Quality Alliance and CECity. Its primary service, EQuIPP™, is a performance information management platform that makes unbiased quality-related data available to health plans and community pharmacy organizations. EQuIPP™ brings standardization to the measurement of the quality of medication use and makes this information accessible and easy to understand. For more information, go towww.pharmacyquality.com or www.EQuIPP.org