McKesson Customer Support Rated Among Best Across All Industries Worldwide

Performance Management Team Named as Finalist for 2004 STAR Award in Sustained Performance

HADLEY, MA -- 12/03/2004 -- The Services & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) recently named McKesson’s Performance Management support team as a finalist in its competition for the prestigious 2004 STAR Award. The STAR Award recognizes customer support excellence across all industries worldwide. McKesson was among the top three finalists in the “Sustained Performance” category for sustaining high levels of customer satisfaction for at least three consecutive years.

McKesson’s Performance Management support center has averaged a score of 98 percent in overall satisfaction on surveys completed by customers when support cases are closed. The center has also maintained SSPA Support Center Practices (SCP) certification for the past three years. SCP certification recognizes best practices in the industry and measures customer support effectiveness based on a stringent set of performance standards.

McKesson’s Performance Management team provides customer service for organizations that use Horizon Performance Manager™, Horizon Business Insight™ and TRENDSTAR® decision support solutions. Deployed in 900 facilities worldwide, these solutions help healthcare organizations improve business performance by providing decision support analysis and actionable insight as well as performance monitoring. This is accomplished by integrating clinical, financial and operational information from across the organization and providing sophisticated analytical applications to identify improvement opportunities.

Pam Shoberg, manager of consolidated decision support at UW Medicine in Seattle, has firsthand experience with McKesson’s support center. “The Performance Management team uses best practices when it comes to delivering quality support,” said Shoberg. “They’ve got it right. Hands down, they provide the most exceptional support.”

Jeff Parypinski, McKesson vice president of customer relations, said the team has one goal -- to be a world-class support organization. “We want highly satisfied customers that achieve a significant return on investment from all of our products,” said Parypinski. “The key to achieving that goal is satisfied, enthusiastic employees who believe in what they do, are committed to their customers and are on a path to achieving their full potential, both personally and professionally.”

In its quest to achieve world-class support, the Performance Management team has recorded notable accomplishments that include:

-- Average 98 percent in overall support satisfaction over the past three
years on customer event surveys
-- 100 percent customer satisfaction on event surveys conducted in
October 2004
-- Average employee turnover rate of less than one percent over the past
three years
-- Average 10 years’ employee tenure in Performance Management support
team
-- World-class customer loyalty scores above industry average and rising

“Being a finalist in the Sustained Performance category is a huge accomplishment because applicants must demonstrate high levels of customer satisfaction for at least three consecutive years,” said Bill Rose, SSPA founder and executive director. “The McKesson support team is well deserving of recognition for their significant accomplishment.”
Past STAR Award winners in the Sustained Performance category include Hewlett-Packard, Mercury Interactive, Great Plains Software and Microsoft Corporation.

“To be named as a STAR Award finalist is a great honor, especially considering that it spans all industries worldwide,” said Greg Taylor, vice president and general manager, resource management solutions, McKesson Provider Technologies. “It has required a commitment to excellence by our employees with a focus on achieving our ultimate goal -- highly satisfied and loyal customers.”

About SSPA

The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) was formed to focus on the specific needs of executives responsible for service and support centers and overall customer relations. Today, the SSPA represents over 24,000 service professionals at over 2,700 support centers worldwide. The industry looks to SSPA to provide insight into the future, a road map of best practices and access to the best service and support vendors. SSPA provides a reliable and comprehensive resource for conferences, news, research, benchmarking, standards and collaboration. Founded in 1989, the SSPA is based in San Diego, CA and can be reached at info@thesspa.com or by phone at 858-674-5491 or on the web at http://www.thesspa.com

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation is a Fortune 16 healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to helping its customers deliver high-quality healthcare by reducing costs, streamlining processes and improving the quality and safety of patient care. Over the course of its 170-year history, McKesson has grown to provide pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care; healthcare information technology for hospitals, physicians, homecare and payors; hospital and retail pharmacy automation; and services for manufacturers and payors designed to improve outcomes for patients. For more information, visit us at www.mckesson.com.

Contact Information

Paul Adams

Sr. Manager, Public Relations

McKesson

Contact via E-mail