TRICARE Awards New Mail Order Pharmacy

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From From TRICARE Management Activity Public Affairs

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (NNS) -- The Department of Defense's TRICARE Management Activity (TMA) awarded Express Scripts, Inc. of Maryland Heights, Mo., a contract to provide mail
order pharmacy services for the TRICARE Program. The contract is valued at approximately $275 million over a five year period.

"DoD learned from the past five-year contract about the benefits and services that are important to beneficiaries," said Dr. William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

"We have worked to improve benefits and have designed the next generation of TRICARE contracts, including the mail order pharmacy contract, to build on constantly increasing levels of excellence in performance and value. It is our goal, as well as our commitment to our beneficiaries, to ensure they have the best health care available, and we believe this contract will help us meet this goal."

The new TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy (TMOP) contract will replace the existing National Mail Order Pharmacy (NMOP) contract, which is due to expire at the end of February 2003. The
TMOP contract will provide a worldwide, full-service mail order pharmacy program to all TRICARE-eligible beneficiaries and will begin on or about Mar. 1, 2003.

Like the NMOP, the TMOP provides another option for TRICARE beneficiaries to meet their prescription needs in addition to military and retail pharmacies. All three options for pharmacy services will be monitored by the Pharmacy Data Transaction Service (PDTS), a patient medication record that enhances patient safety.

"The military health system continues to be a leader in quality, convenience and safety in providing pharmacy services," said Army Col. Bill Davies, director, DoD pharmacy programs.

More information about the new TMOP program will be available soon on the TRICARE Web site at w.tricare.osd.mil.

Beneficiaries currently using NMOP will receive information about TMOP prior to its start date.

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