UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT



     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934


       Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): February 3, 2003




                         CURATIVE HEALTH SERVICES, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


          Minnesota                   000-19370                41-1503914
(State or other jurisdiction of      (Commission            (I.R.S. Employer
 incorporation or organization)      File Number)          Identification No.)


                                150 Motor Parkway
                         Hauppauge, New York 11788-5145
                    (Address of principal executive offices)


                                 (631) 232-7000
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)


                                 Not Applicable
         (Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)












Item 5.  Other Events and Regulation FD Disclosure

     On February 3, 2003, Curative Health Services,  Inc. issued a press release
announcing it has acquired  MedCare,  Inc.  ("MedCare)  for  approximately  $6.6
million in cash.  Financial terms of the transaction will be discussed in detail
on the Company's  fourth quarter and full-year 2002 results  conference  call on
Wednesday,  February 12, 2003. MedCare is a specialty pharmacy with locations in
Alabama,  Mississippi, West Virginia and Florida. MedCare's primary product line
is Synagis(R) for the prevention of RSV  (Respiratory  Syncytial  Virus).  Other
product lines include Growth Hormone and Hemophilia  clotting  factor. A copy of
the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1,  which is incorporated  herein by
reference under this Item 5.

Item 7.  Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information and Exhibits

         (a) Financial Statements of Business Acquired

               Not required.

         (b) Pro Forma Financial Information

               Not required.

         (c) Exhibit

               Exhibit     Description of Exhibit
               =======     ======================

                 99.1      Press Release dated February 3, 2003 relating to the
                           Company's acquisition of MedCare, Inc. (subject to
                           Item 5).




Signature

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.

                                            CURATIVE HEALTH SERVICES, INC.


Date:  February 5, 2003                     By:  /s/ Thomas Axmacher
                                                 ------------------------------
                                                     Thomas Axmacher
                                                     Chief Financial Officer






                                                                 Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Scott Eckstein
Investor Relations
Curative Health Services
631-232-7044
seckstein@curativehealth.com


            CURATIVE HEALTH SERVICES ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF MEDCARE
                 Anticipates $0.03 Per Share Accretion for 2003


     Hauppauge,  New York - February 3, 2003 - Curative Health  Services,  Inc.,
(Nasdaq:  CURE),  announced today it has acquired MedCare,  Inc. ("MedCare") for
approximately $6.6 million in cash.

     The Company  expects the  acquisition to add $0.03 to earnings per share in
2003.  As a  result,  Curative  has  revised  its  guidance  for  2003  and  now
anticipates earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $1.50 - $1.56.

     Financial terms of the  transaction  will be discussed in greater detail on
Curative's  fourth  quarter  and  full-year  2002  results  conference  call  on
Wednesday,  February  12, 2003 at 11:00 a.m.  Eastern  Time.  The  Company  will
discuss its  financial  results,  recent  developments,  business  strategy  and
outlook.   To   participate  in  the  conference   call,   dial   1-800-915-4836
approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

     MedCare is a specialty  pharmacy  with  locations in Alabama,  Mississippi,
West Virginia and Florida.  MedCare's primary product line is Synagis(R) for the
prevention of RSV  (Respiratory  Syncytial  Virus).  Other product lines include
Growth Hormone and Hemophilia clotting factor.

     "This acquisition strengthens our growing Synagis(R) operations and expands
our geographic  footprint into the Southeastern United States as we continue our
strategy to aggressively  grow the specialty  pharmacy business both organically
and through strategic  acquisitions," said Joseph Feshbach,  Curative's Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition, adding MedCare to the Curative family
offers a unique  opportunity  to  broaden  our  existing  product  portfolio  by
entering  additional therapy lines where Curative's  high-touch approach can add
real value to the patients affected by these disease states."


                                     (more)




o       About Curative Health Services


     Curative Health Services  delivers superior clinical outcomes and unmatched
patient  satisfaction  for  patients  experiencing  serious  medical  conditions
through two unique business units.

     Curative's  Specialty  Pharmacy Services business unit provides services to
help  patients  manage the health  care  process,  and offers  related  pharmacy
products  to  patients  for  chronic  and  critical   disease  states  including
Hemophilia, Immune System Disorders, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Multiple
Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

     Curative's  Specialty  Healthcare  Services  ("SHS")  business  unit  is an
industry  leader in chronic  wound care  management,  consistently  achieving an
outcome success rate of more than 80 percent.  SHS provides a broad continuum of
services to health care providers  through a nationwide  network.  This national
network  of   hospital-based   Wound  Care   Center(R)   programs   has  offered
comprehensive  treatment  to over  375,000  patients,  achieving  more than a 94
percent patient satisfaction rate.

                  For more information, visit www.curative.com
                                ----------------

     This press release contains  forward-looking  statements within the meaning
of the Private  Securities  Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such  forward-looking
statements  involve known and unknown  risks,  uncertainties  and other factors,
which may cause the actual results,  performance or achievements of the Company,
or  industry  results,  to be  materially  different  from any  future  results,
performance,  or  achievements  expressed  or  implied  by such  forward-looking
statements.  Factors  that might  cause such  differences  include,  but are not
limited to, the termination or non-renewal of a material number of contracts, an
inability  to  obtain  new  contracts,  changes  in the  government  regulations
relating to the Company's  Specialty  Healthcare  Services or Specialty Pharmacy
Services  business  units,  changes in the  regulations  governing  third  party
reimbursements for the Company's services,  manufacturing  shortages of products
sold by Curative's  Specialty  Pharmacy  Services  business  unit, and the other
risks and  uncertainties  detailed in the Company's  filings with the Securities
and Exchange  Commission.  Readers of this release are referred to the Company's
Quarterly  Report on Form 10Q for the quarter  ended  September  30,  2002,  for
further discussion of these and other factors that could affect future results.

  Editors Note: This release is also available on the Internet over the World
                      Wide Web at: http://www.curative.com
                                       ###