Toronto Stock Exchange Symbol: SXC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      

SYSTEMS XCELLENCE ANNOUNCES SALE OF RXMAXT REBATE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE TO PHARMACEUTICAL CARE NETWORK

- Purchase valued at $725,000 will allow PCN to capitalize on RxMAX and RxCLAIM synergies -

MILTON, Ontario, October 1, 2002 -- Systems Xcellence Inc., (TSX: SXC) a leading provider of healthcare information technology solutions throughout the pharmaceutical supply chain, today announced that it has licensed its RxMAXT software to Pharmaceutical Care Network (PCN) of Sacramento, California. PCN is an existing SXC customer that currently uses SXC's RxCLAIM® software to manage its pharmacy claims processing.

Under the terms of the contract, SXC will provide PCN with its RxMAX software to enhance their ability to manage and model their contractual arrangements with pharmaceutical manufacturers. In return, SXC will receive approximately $725,000 in license, maintenance, consulting and implementation fees. Initial maintenance fees included in the contract will be earned over a three-year period.

"We are very pleased to have earned repeat business with PCN, a long-time customer who identified an opportunity to increase its revenue and enhance its operational efficiency through the use of RxMAX. PCN joins our growing list of repeat customers which is a testament to the innovation and quality of our software applications," said Gordon S. Glenn, President and CEO of SXC. "In an environment of rising costs for prescription drugs, healthcare providers are looking to rebates with drug manufacturers as an important source of additional revenue. With the early success of RxMAX, SXC intends to continue to expand its presence in this rapidly emerging market segment."

"As we bring rebate management in-house, we require an application that has both the performance and functionality to integrate with RxCLAIM, our claims processing application," said John T. Skhal, CEO of PCN. "The combination of RxCLAIM and RxMAX will allow us to transition our rebate processing on one integrated platform without additional interfacing outlays. Ultimately, RxMAX will allow us to build more efficient relationships with pharmaceutical manufacturers, while simultaneously providing the flexibility to support a growing volume of transactions. We look forward to exploring other opportunities to work with SXC in the future."

About RxMAX

RxMAX provides a performance-based contracting management system to assist in managing relationships with pharmaceutical manufacturers. RxMAX empowers users to manage and track contractual arrangements to ensure maximum rebates and performance-based incentives are received. The system utilizes NCPDP's rebate standards as its foundation. Its flexible, table-driven system allows users to create market share, rebatable items lists, enter contract and pricing terms, managed performance schedules and administration fee schedules. RxMAX has the ability to allocate the monies received from these arrangements so they can easily be allocated back to employers, physician groups or other defined entities. In conjunction with other SXC solutions, RxMAX allows an organization to look beyond the price of a prescription to evaluate the overall effectiveness of contractual arrangements in reducing patient costs.

About Pharmaceutical Care Network

Based in Sacramento, California, Pharmaceutical Care Network (PCN) is a full service pharmacy benefit management and healthcare information management company providing services to Medicaid Managed Care Plans, self-funded employer groups, Health & Welfare Trust Funds, Third Party Administrators, HMOs and other Managed Care Organizations. MedIntelligence, the clinical offering from PCN, provides healthcare information management services to the health care industry, and focuses on improving outcomes - both clinical and financial. PCN's mission is to maximize the value of health care by managing pharmaceutical information, programs and services for its customers. For more information about PCN and MedIntelligence, contact the company at 800.777.9216 or visit their web site at www.pharmcarenet.com.

About Systems Xcellence Inc.

Systems Xcellence (SXC) is headquartered in Milton, Ontario with offices and processing centres in Lombard, Illinois, Scottsdale, Arizona and Victoria, British Columbia. SXC is a leading provider of healthcare information technology solutions and services to the healthcare benefits management industry. The company's product offerings and solutions combine a wide range of software applications, application service provider (ASP) processing services and professional services, designed for many of the largest organizations in the pharmaceutical supply chain, such as pharmacy benefit managers, managed care organizations, retail pharmacy chains and other healthcare intermediaries.

The company's products offer its customers comprehensive pharmacy benefits management, claims switching and processing, drug dispensing, data warehousing and analysis, and rebate contract management systems. SXC delivers these solutions to its customers as software products bundled with systems implementation and consulting services, or on an ASP basis from its data centres in Scottsdale, Arizona and Lombard, Illinois. The Company's shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SXC. SXC can be found on the Internet at www.sxc.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations. These forward-looking statements entail various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties about the Company's business are more fully discussed in the Management Discussion and Analysis published in the Company's annual report.

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