PacifiCare Launches Subsidiary to Provide Pharmacy Management

PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. said Wednesday that it has started a new pharmaceuticals subsidiary that will provide pharmacy management services outside the PacifiCare health maintenance organization.

The company said that the new entity, Prescription Solutions, will work with other HMOs, insurance companies, self-insured employers and union trusts across the nation.

Alan Hoops, who will become PacifiCare’s president and chief executive on April 1, said he hopes that Prescription Solutions will parallel the HMO’s growth. The company recently announced that its membership now numbers more than 1 million.

“We are very excited about the introduction of Prescription Solutions,” Hoops said in a prepared statement. “Over the past two years we have been meeting the pharmacy needs of our own HMOs with tremendous success. . . . I’m confident that other organizations can benefit from the expertise we have developed in this area.”

Debi L. Reissman, vice president of pharmacy and vision services, has been appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer of Prescription Solutions.