Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health (nyse: CAH) is a premier, global healthcare company dedicated to making healthcare safer and more productive.

Overview
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE: CAH) is a 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.

Founded in 1971 as Cardinal Foods by Robert D. Walter, it was initially a food wholesaler. Acquiring the Bailey Drug Company in 1979, it began wholesaling drugs as Cardinal Distribution, Incorporated. Following the introduction of the company on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 1983 it commenced on a long string of acquisitions and mergers. As of 2006, it was ranked 19th on the Fortune 500 list and employs more than 40,000 people on five continents.

R. Kerry Clark was appointed as President and CEO on 17 April 2006, with Robert D. Walter retaining the Chairmanship.

On 28 June 2007, Cardinal Health announced the completion of the tendor offer for VIASYS. The acquisition of VIASYS expands Cardinal Health’s clinical and medical product offerings for global, acute-care customers and, will establish the company as a leader in the more than $4 billion respiratory care market. The business will be integrated into Cardinal Health’s Medical Products Manufacturing segment.

Facts
Cardinal Health:


 * Supply chain services – distributes one-third of all pharmaceuticals, medical, lab and surgical products in the U.S. from manufacturers to providers of health care. Provides a full line of services to improve pharmacies serving retail and mail-order customers, health systems and long-term care facilities. Each day, Cardinal Health makes more than 50,000 deliveries to 40,000 customer sites, including hospitals, pharmacies and other points of care.


 * Medical products – develops and manufactures surgical instruments, respiratory care products, fluid suction and irrigation products, surgical drapes, masks, gowns and gloves and surgical packs. Manufactures more than four million medical/surgical products every day that are used in 50 percent of all surgeries and by 90 percent of all hospitals in the U.S.


 * Alaris® products –develops and manufactures the market-leading line of intravenous infusion systems.


 * Pyxis® products – develops and manufactures the market-leading line of hospital automation systems for medicine and supplies.


 * CareFusion™ products – develops barcode patient identification systems for bedside verification.


 * MedMined™ Data Mining Surveillance – reduces the incidence of hospital-acquired infections through real-time clinical data mining, which acts as a “smoke alarm” for infections.


 * Pharmacy Management provides best practices and expertise in managing and consulting with acute care pharmacies, and is one of the largest employers of hospital pharmacists, with 1,000 pharmacists, including 110 clinical specialists.


 * Rxe-source is a nationwide remote medication order entry and review service for acute care pharmacies, processing about 3.3 million order lines remotely each year and identifying about 18,000 potential patient safety events.


 * Nuclear Pharmacy Services – operates 170 nuclear pharmacies delivering 14 million radio- pharmaceutical doses to hospitals and outpatient care centers every year.


 * Medicine Shoppe International – leading franchisor of retail, apothecary-style pharmacies with nearly 1,000 Medicine Shoppe® and Medicap Pharmacy® stores, including more than 300 pharmacies outside the United States.

Company website

 * Cardinal Health Official Web Site.