BLUE BELL, PA, February 16, 2000 — (NYSE: ΑET) After a 12-year career in the
pharmaceutical and pharmacy benefits management industries, Edwin
C. Hedblom, Pharm.D., has been named chief pharmacy officer for
Aetna U.S. Healthcare. The appointment was announced today by
Nicholas A. Hanchak, M.D., head of Pharmacy Management for Aetna
U.S. Healthcare. Reporting directly to Dr. Hanchak, Dr. Hedblom
will assume overall responsibility for Aetna U.S. Healthcare’s
clinical pharmacy management functions, which include clinical
support, formulary management, regional pharmacy management and
program management.
"Ed’s demonstrated
leadership skills and his knowledge of both the managed care and
pharmaceutical businesses make him an excellent choice for this
position," said Dr. Hanchak. "As Aetna U.S. Healthcare
continues to focus on the benefits of integrated pharmacy and
medical data, Ed’s background in disease management,
pharmacoeconomics and outcomes measurement will be a valuable
asset. I look forward to the positive contributions that Ed will
make to our organization."
Immediately prior to joining Aetna
U.S. Healthcare, Dr. Hedblom worked for nearly five years at
AstraZeneca, L.P. While at AstraZeneca, he held numerous roles,
most recently as Director of Global Health Economics. Previously,
Dr. Hedblom held leadership positions in the AstraZeneca
integration, as well as roles in disease and patient management,
and in outcomes measurement at AstraZeneca, the former Astra
Pharmaceuticals.
Beginning in 1993, Dr. Hedblom
spent two years at Diversified Pharmaceutical Services as director
of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research. Prior to that, he held
the position of manager of product development at United
HealthCare Corporation’s Center for Health Care Policy and
Evaluation.
Dr. Hedblom received his doctor of
pharmacy degree from the University of Minnesota College of
Pharmacy. He is a member of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy
and previously served on the editorial advisory board of the Journal
of Managed Care Pharmacy. He has presented extensively on a
variety of managed care topics, and his work has been published in
peer-reviewed publications.
Aetna U.S. Healthcare Pharmacy
Management is the country’s largest integrated pharmacy health
benefit manager with approximately 14 million members enrolled in
pharmacy benefit plans. Aetna U.S. Healthcare’s ability to
integrate medical and pharmacy data in a timely fashion to help
improve health outcomes differentiates the company from
stand-alone pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). This integrated
information is used to help improve health outcomes through a
variety of efforts that include claims systems that assist
providers in identifying potentially harmful drug-to-disease
interactions at the time a prescription is dispensed, and an
asthma early-warning program that uses real-time prescription data
to help identify members who may be at risk for an acute asthma
attack.
Aetna U.S. Healthcare is the
nation’s leading health and related benefits organization,
providing a full spectrum of products ranging from health
maintenance organizations (HMO) to indemnity health insurance, and
dental, vision, and pharmacy benefits to more than 21 million
Americans. In addition, Aetna U.S. Healthcare provides quality
measurement and improvement programs and data analysis for
providers and purchasers of health care.
