Columbia, Maryland - (March 31, 2005) -- PEAK Technologies, an RR Donnelley company, has been awarded a new contract for Auto Identification Technology (AIT) by Novation, the supply company of VHA Inc. and the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC). Novation previously has not offered an agreement for these products. Novation provides group purchasing services to members of these health care provider alliances. Under the terms of the three-year agreement beginning April 1, 2005, PEAK Technologies will provide Automatic Identification Technology products, systems, and services. The newly formed agreement is the first contractual agreement covering Automatic Identification Technologies for Novation. "PEAK Technologies was awarded the Novation AIT agreement because PEAK best met the requirements set forth in Novation’s bid for these products. Novation was looking for a supplier that could provide competitive pricing and strong vendor relationships with all of the major equipment manufacturers while offering nationwide sales and service coverage," said Amy Lipkin, product manager, Novation. The health services market is being affected by multiple new regulations and recommendations that call for increased use of bar code and RFID technology to improve patient safety. Patient safety and bar coding top the list of IT-related projects being undertaken by hospitals in 2005, according to a recent survey of health care CIOs. “PEAK is extremely excited to begin working with VHA and UHC member organizations by providing these health care institutions access to the data capture, printing, RFID, and mobility solutions needed to improve patient care, reduce liability, and automate paper-based processes,” said Adrian Thomas, president and CEO of PEAK Technologies.