PSS World Medical, Inc. was an American distributor of medical products, equipment, billing services and pharmaceutical related products to non-hospital healthcare providers. In 2008, the company celebrated its 25th year in business and was named to Forbes 400 Best Big Companies list for the second time. In 2013, the company was purchased by the

McKesson Corporation McKesson Corporation is an American company distributing pharmaceuticals and providing health information technology, medical supplies, and care management tools. The company delivers a third of all pharmaceuticals used in North America and emplo ...

and dissolved. The organization also ranked number 965 on the 2008 Fortune 1000 list of largest businesses, up from 980 the prior year.

History

The company, based in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, began in 1983 with the physician business, now called the ''Physician Sales & Service'' (PSS) division, as a distributor of medical supplies, diagnostic equipment, and pharmaceutical related products to primary care office-based physicians in the United States. According to ''The Florida Times-Union'', "PSS entered the radiology and imaging equipment distribution business by acquiring Jacksonville-based Diagnostic Imaging, Inc" in 1996. The acquisition of ''Gulf South Medical Supply Inc.'' was completed in early 1998 for $661 million and expanded PSSWM's target customer group to include long-term care and assisted living facilities, home health care and hospice providers. On February 22, 2013,

(NYSE: MCK) announced that it completed the acquisition of PSS World Medical, Inc. for a total purchase price of approximately $2.1 billion, acquiring all outstanding shares of PSS World Medical for $29.00 per share in cash. According to ''The Florida Times-Union'', Physician Sales and Service Inc. "officially changed its corporate name" in March, 1998 to PSS World Medical Inc. (PSSWM) "to reflect... he company'sexpansion into multiple medical distribution sectors." In 1998 a book, Faster Company: Building the World's Nuttiest, Turn-on-a-Dime, Home-Grown, Billion-Dollar Business, was published after being written by Founder and then CEO, Patrick Kelly.

Fisher Scientific Fisher Scientific International, Inc. ( NYSE: FSH) was a laboratory supply and biotechnology company that provided products and services to the global scientific research and clinical laboratory markets until its merger with Thermo Electron in 2 ...

announced its intention to buy PSSWM for $746.9 million in June, 2000 to increase its sales of medical products to doctors and nursing homes. Investors did not like the plan, and stock prices for both companies declined. On September 5, 2000, Fisher backed out of the deal and both companies announced that the "transaction is not in the best interest of their respective shareholders." Diagnostic Imaging acquired California-based ''Intra-Trade Medical Corp.'' and QA Processor Service; New York-based ''Vanguard Imaging''; and Florida-based ''Palm Beach X-Ray Company'' in 1999 with the expressed hope of raising annual revenue by $45 million. However, PSSWM restructured the company's debt in 2000 and DI lost money for two years. In late 2002, PSSWM announced a $115 million deal to sell its Diagnostic Imaging subsidiary to a venture capital firm that will continue operating the imaging business based in Jacksonville.

Current operations

The company has over 800 sales consultants who work through 39 full-service distribution centers providing coverage throughout the United States. As a single source for medical inventory needs, PSS carries over 55,000 different medical products, (70% supplies, 20% equipment, and 10% pharmaceuticals), representing over 1,000 major manufacturers.

References

External links

Physician Sales & Service official websitePSS World Medical official website
{{Jacksonville Corporations Companies based in Jacksonville, Florida Health care companies established in 1983 Health care companies based in Florida Defunct health care companies of the United States 2013 mergers and acquisitions