Medical Action Industries Inc. (the "Company" or "Medical Action") (NASDAQ: MDCI), a leading supplier of medical and surgical disposable products, today announced that it is a winner of the seventh annual Pinnacle Award, presented by the Premier healthcare alliance.

Premier is a hospital-owned performance improvement alliance of 2,600 hospitals and 84,000 other care sites. It contracts with more than 800 suppliers, and Medical Action is one of 27 suppliers to receive the Pinnacle Award. Winners are recognized for their outstanding management of Premier agreements and their drive toward the mutual goal of providing clinical and financial value to the alliance members of Premier.

"We are proud to have been given this honor for the fourth consecutive year. The recognition of our consistent performance in collaborating with healthcare providers to improve clinical outcomes, while simultaneously helping to manage costs, represents our commitment to excellence and innovation," stated Paul D. Meringolo, President and CEO of Medical Action Industries Inc.

John DiNapoli, Area Vice President, accepted the award at Premier's 2012 Annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in Nashville, Tennessee. The award ceremony was held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center on Thursday, June 7.

"As providers continue efforts to operate in a high quality, cost-effective environment Medical Action has truly been supporting Premier alliance members," said Mike Alkire, Premier Chief Operating Officer. "We're proud to recognize them as a top performing organization."

The Pinnacle Award rewards Premier's contracted suppliers that support attainment of mutual goals, drive contract utilization and are committed to performance improvement.

About Medical Action Industries Inc. - Medical Action is a diversified manufacturer and provider of disposable medical products with leadership positions in multiple market segments. Its products are marketed primarily to acute care facilities and ambulatory surgery centers in domestic and specific international markets. Medical Action's products are marketed nationally by its direct sales professionals and an extensive network of healthcare distributors. The company has preferred vendor agreements with national and regional distributors, as well as sole and multi-source agreements with group purchasing organizations. Medical Action's common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol MDCI and is included in the Russell Microcap® Index.

About the Premier healthcare alliance, Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient - Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals and 84,000-plus other healthcare sites using the power of collaboration to lead the transformation to high quality, cost-effective care. Owned by hospitals, health systems and other providers, Premier maintains the nation's most comprehensive repository of clinical, financial and outcomes information and operates a leading healthcare purchasing network. A world leader in helping deliver measurable improvements in care, Premier has worked with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the United Kingdom's National Health Service North West to improve hospital performance. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier also has an office in Washington. http://www.premierinc.com. Stay connected with Premier on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements for purposes of these provisions, including any projections of earnings, revenues or other financial items, any statements of the plans and objectives for management for future operations, any statements concerning proposed new products or services, any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. All forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date hereof and are based on information available to us as of such date. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "may," "will," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "intends," "believes," "estimates," "potential," or "continue," or the negative thereof or other comparable terminology. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations or any of the forward-looking statements will prove to be correct, and actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in the forward-looking statements. Future financial condition and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements, are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, including manufacturing inefficiencies, termination or interruption of relationships with our suppliers, potential delays in obtaining regulatory approvals, product recalls, product liability claims, our inability to successfully manage growth through acquisitions, our failure to comply with governing regulations, risks of international procurement of raw materials and finished goods, market acceptance of our products, market price of our Common Stock, foreign currency fluctuations, resin volatility and other factors referred to in our press releases and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Please see the Company's filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Qs, which identify specific factors that would cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

Medical Action Industries Inc.
John Sheffield, 631-231-4600
Chief Financial Officer
www.medical-action.com