MEDNAX National Medical Group and Pacira Pharmaceuticals Launch National Enhanced Recovery after Cesarean Surgery (ERACS™) Collaborative to Minimize Opioid Use

MEDNAX, Inc. (NYSE:MD), the national health solutions partner specializing in anesthesiology, neonatology, maternal-fetal medicine, other pediatric services, radiology and management services, is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCRX) to address the ongoing use of opioids during and after cesarean surgery by launching a national collaborative aimed at addressing the Quadruple Aim through the implementation of an Enhanced Recovery after Cesarean Surgery (ERACS™) program. The collaborative will be multi-disciplinary in nature, engaging the expertise of maternal-fetal medicine physicians, anesthesiologists, obstetricians and perioperative nurses to improve the patient experience as well as maternal and infant health, reduce the total cost of care and enhance provider satisfaction.

The ERACS™ program will encompass comprehensive educational and clinical implementation pathways. The overarching goals will be to educate clinical teams, shorten the length of postoperative hospital stays, reduce the use of opioid analgesics and improve postoperative pain control. In addition, MEDNAX and Pacira will monitor a series of clinical quality, safety and value-based performance indicators including: reduced serious maternal and infant morbidity, reduced postoperative nausea and vomiting, lower rate of surgical site infections, lower rate of return to the operating room, lower rate of readmission to the hospital and lower total cost of care.

“Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) service line implementations have been shown to repeatedly improve the quality of care while at the same time lowering the cost of care,” Dr. Michael Murphy, Chief Medical Officer, Anesthesiology and Adult Critical Care Services, MEDNAX. “The same can be surmised for the elective cesarean surgeries. Lessons learned by MEDNAX practices following a series of ERAS implementations in multiple practices will assist in assuring similar results for this ERACS™ service line implementation.”

“We are excited by the potential of this new program to improve outcomes for women who need cesarean delivery,” said Dr. Andrew Combs, Ph.D., MEDNAX-affiliated maternal-fetal medicine specialist. “ERAS programs have proven to be successful in other types of surgery, including colorectal, cancer, head-and-neck, urologic and bariatric surgery. These programs are usually a win-win, producing better outcomes for patients, reduced resource utilization for hospitals and lower costs for health plans. With this new collaborative, we will bring ERAS principles to pregnant women and their newborns.”

“We look forward to joining forces with MEDNAX on this collaborative to decrease postsurgical reliance on opioids, and ultimately improve patient care and the recovery experience for both mothers undergoing cesarean deliveries and their newborn babies,” said Dave Stack, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pacira Pharmaceuticals. “We are hopeful that the launch of this ERACS™ program focused on reducing opioid use through the implementation of effective, non-opioid options will serve as a guiding model for healthcare facilities providing both maternal and fetal specialty services.”

ABOUT MEDNAX

MEDNAX, Inc. is a national health solutions partner based in Sunrise, Fla. comprised of the nation's leading providers of physician services. Physicians and advanced practitioners practicing as part of MEDNAX are reshaping the delivery of care within their specialties and subspecialties, using evidence-based tools, continuous quality initiatives, clinical research and telemedicine to enhance patient outcomes and provide high-quality, cost-effective care. The Company was founded in 1979, and today, through its affiliated professional corporations, MEDNAX provides services through a network of approximately 4,100 physicians in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. In addition to its national physician network, MEDNAX provides services to healthcare facilities and physicians in over 40 states through two complementary businesses, consisting of a revenue cycle management company and a consulting services company. Additional information is available at www.mednax.com.

ABOUT PACIRA

Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCRX) is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to advancing and improving postsurgical outcomes for acute care practitioners and their patients. The company's flagship product, EXPAREL® (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) was commercially launched in the United States in April 2012. EXPAREL utilizes DepoFoam®, a unique and proprietary product delivery technology that encapsulates drugs without altering their molecular structure, and releases them over a desired period of time. To learn more about Pacira, including the corporate mission to reduce overreliance on opioids, visit www.pacira.com.

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MEDNAX, Inc.
Jennifer Gutierrez, 954-384-0175 ext. 5684
Corporate Communications Specialist
[email protected]