Press Releases

DUBLIN, Ohio, May 23, 2007 ― Cardinal Health today launched the first national, searchable online database of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and PET/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) imaging centers, which help physicians detect and treat select oncology, cardiology and neurology disorders.

 

For more than two decades, PET and PET/CT services have helped improve patient outcomes by helping physicians detect certain forms of cancer, more precisely track disease progression and more accurately monitor the effects of therapy. Physicians also use PET and PET/CT technology to diagnose coronary artery disease, assess the viability of cardiac tissue, and to view brain activity to diagnose or differentiate neurology disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. However, despite their many clinical uses, there has not until now been an easy and accessible way for physicians and patients to locate PET and PET/CT imaging centers nearest them.

 

Available at www.PETFoundations.com, Cardinal Health’s new online database enables referring physicians, patients and family members to conduct comprehensive local, regional and national (U.S.) searches for PET and PET/CT imaging centers – using zip code and geographic radius tools. For added convenience and efficiency, the online PET locator also provides maps and directions to these facilities. Access is free, open to the public, and lists PET and PET/CT sites regardless of whether they are Cardinal Health customers. The database currently hosts information on over 1,500 imaging centers in the United States.  

 

“As an increasing number of physicians use PET and PET/CT services to improve patient care, we’ve recognized a real need for an online tool that would help patients and referring physicians quickly and easily locate nearby imaging centers,” said Gordon Troup, president and general manager of Nuclear Pharmacy Services for Cardinal Health. “Our new PET and PET/CT Locator tool will facilitate improved access to this important modality, so referring physicians can more easily incorporate this information into patients’ diagnosis, therapeutic and staging treatment plans.”

 

PET service providers will also find this tool valuable in business planning, as it enables them to identify the number of PET and PET/CT imaging centers in a particular region, sorted by technology and location.  This information can help identify geographic areas where new centers are most needed. The data is downloadable in Microsoft Excel^© format, for ease of use, reporting and sorting.

 

Location-specific information in this pre-populated online database can also be updated by PET and PET/CT imaging center administrators. Database content is submitted online, and then validated by Cardinal Health before posting.

 

This new tool is the latest offering from Cardinal Health’s PET Foundations^™ program, which offers comprehensive marketing and education tools to help PET and PET/CT centers increase patient volumes. Designed to increase awareness of the clinical benefits and appropriate uses of PET and PET/CT, most PET Foundations tools are exclusively available to PET and PET/CT centers that purchase PET radiopharmaceuticals from Cardinal Health.  

 

Cardinal Health is the nation’s leading provider of nuclear pharmacy services, operating a fully integrated network of 160 nuclear pharmacies in the United States. These nuclear pharmacies compound, dispense and distribute patient-specific, unit-dose radiopharmaceuticals to more than 7,000 hospitals and outpatient clinics each day.  

 

For more information about Cardinal Health’s PET and PET/CT services, visit www.PETFoundations.com.  At the site, physicians, patients and family members can learn about the clinical value of PET and PET/CT services – and members of the PET community can learn more about comprehensive marketing and education programs that can help grow patient volumes.

 

Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is an $80 billion, global company serving the health-care industry with products and services that help hospitals, physician offices and pharmacies reduce costs, improve safety, productivity and profitability, and deliver better care to patients.  With a focus on making supply chains more efficient, reducing hospital-acquired infections and breaking the cycle of harmful medication errors, Cardinal Health develops market-leading technologies, including Alaris^® IV pumps, Pyxis^® automated dispensing systems, MedMined^® data mining software and the CareFusion^™ patient identification system.  The company also manufactures medical and surgical products and is one of the largest distributors of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies worldwide.  Ranked No. 19 on the Fortune 500 and No. 1 in its sector on Fortune's ranking of Most Admired firms, Cardinal Health employs more than 40,000 people on five continents.  More information about the company may be found at www.cardinalhealth.com.

 

Except for historical information, all other information in this news release consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended.  These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied.  The most significant of these uncertainties are described in Cardinal Health's Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports (including all amendments to those reports) and exhibits to those reports, and include (but are not limited to) the following: competitive pressures in its various lines of business; the loss of one or more key customer or supplier relationships or changes to the terms of those relationships; changes in the distribution patterns or reimbursement rates for health-care products and/or services; the results, consequences, effects or timing of any inquiry or investigation by any regulatory authority or any legal and administrative proceedings; difficulties, delays or additional costs in implementing the company’s global restructuring program; and general economic and market conditions.  Except to the extent required by applicable law, Cardinal Health undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.