Cardinal Health Signs Agreement With Novation for Distribution of Medical and Surgical Products

DUBLIN, Ohio -- Cardinal Health, Inc., a leading provider of products and services supporting the healthcare industry, announces it has signed a five-year agreement with Novation, the healthcare contracting services company of VHA, Inc. and the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) to distribute medical and surgical products. The new contract extends a long-term relationship between Novation and Cardinal Health.

Under terms of the multi-source agreement, Cardinal Health will provide medical and surgical products and logistics services to Novation members including stockless and just-in-time delivery programs, customized pallet design, and patient labels and bar-coding services. The contract is effective Sept. 1, 2006 and runs through August 2011.

VHA's and UHC's 2,500 members will have access to Cardinal Health's full offering of medical and surgical products including kits, packs and trays; sutures, woven and nonwoven goods; needles and syringes; respiratory devices and skin care products. Cardinal Health will support Novation's supply standardization programs and participate in periodic reviews of products and pricing with Novation.

"This is a vote of confidence in our company and the value of our products and services for healthcare facilities nationwide," said Jim Neubauer, Cardinal Health's vice president of health systems. "We are pleased to continue building on our long-term relationship with such a valuable customer."

Source: Cardinal Health, Inc.