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):  November 14, 2002





                         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) (Zip Code)


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

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












Item 5.  Other Events and Regulation FD Disclosure

On November 14, 2002, Curative Health Services, Inc. issued a press release
announcing that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire OptCare Plus,
Inc. ("OptCare") for approximately $10.5 million in cash, subject to customary
conditions. OptCare could also receive additional proceeds depending upon the
achievement of certain targets in calendar year 2003. OptCare is a specialty
pharmacy dispensing biological medications such as hemophilia clotting factors.
OptCare's focus is on persons affected by bleeding disorders. In addition,
OptCare coordinates infusion nursing and provides complete pharmacy services,
clinical and reimbursement support services to chronic disease communities. The
acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2002. 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) Exhibits

             Exhibit    Description of Exhibit
             -------    ----------------------

              99.1      Press Release dated November 14, 2002 relating to the
                        Company's entering into a definitive agreement to
                        acquire OptCare Plus, 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:  November 15, 2002                 By: /s/ Thomas Axmacher
                                         -----------------------
                                                 Thomas Axmacher
                                                 Chief Financial Officer





                                                                 Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:                                           Richard Moyer
Scott Eckstein                                     Investor Relations
Investor Relations                                 Cameron Associates
Curative Health Services                           212-554-5466
631-232-7044                                       richard@cameronassoc.com
seckstein@curativehealth.com


                CURATIVE HEALTH SERVICES TO ACQUIRE OPTCARE PLUS
                    Acquisition Expands Hemophilia Operations

     Hauppauge,  New York - November 14, 2002 - Curative Health Services,  Inc.,
(Nasdaq:  CURE),  announced today it has entered into a definitive  agreement to
acquire OptCare Plus, Inc.  ("OptCare") for approximately $10.5 million in cash,
subject to customary conditions.  OptCare could also receive additional proceeds
depending  upon the  achievement  of certain  targets in calendar year 2003. The
transaction  is  expected to close in the fourth  quarter of 2002.  As a result,
Curative  has  revised its  guidance  for 2003 and now  anticipates  revenues of
approximately  $219 - $230 million and  earnings per diluted  share to be in the
range of $1.47 - $1.53.

     OptCare is a specialty pharmacy dispensing  biological  medications such as
Hemophilia clotting factors.  OptCare's focus is on persons affected by bleeding
disorders.  In  addition,  OptCare  coordinates  infusion  nursing and  provides
complete  pharmacy  services,  clinical and  reimbursement  support  services to
chronic disease  communities.  OptCare's  service area primarily  focuses on the
populations of Virginia, Maryland and District of Columbia.

     "This acquisition expands our growing Hemophilia  operations.  Curative has
continued to show solid organic growth in Hemophilia  patient  product  revenues
both on a sequential and year-over-year basis," said Joseph Feshbach, Curative's
Chairman  and Chief  Executive  Officer.  "We believe the market  trends in this
business continue to improve as clotting factor availability increases. With the
addition of OptCare's  highly  experienced  clinical staff trained in Hemophilia
management,   we  will  increase  our  capabilities  to  provide   high-quality,
cost-effective  products and  services to patients  affected by  Hemophilia  and
other chronic disease states."

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,   such  as
Hemophilia.

     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 more than 100  hospital-based  Wound  Care  Center(R)  programs  has
offered comprehensive treatment to over 300,000 patients,  achieving more than a
95 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  Reports  on  Forms  10Q for the  quarters  ended  June  30,  2002 and
September  30, 2002 which will be filed later today,  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
                                   -----------------------

                                       ###