Montco firm installs vending machines in docs' offices - Philadelphia Business Journal:
Philadelphia Business Journal - December 4, 2006 http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2006/12/04/story3.html
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Montco firm installs vending machines in docs' offices Philadelphia Business Journal - December 1, 2006 by John George Staff Writer
PLYMOUTH MEETING -- Dr. James Judd's company is in the business of setting up 800-pound vending machines in doctors' offices. The devices don't dispense candy bars, soft drinks or chewing gum. Instead, QuiqMeds' automated machines supply prescription drugs. Judd, the company's chief medical officer and a primary-care physician with Hatboro Medical Associates, is one of a half-dozen cofounders who invested a total of about $600,000 to launch QuiqMeds last year. Six years ago, Hatboro Medical decided to install a manual system for dispensing generic medications in its office after a local insurer cut prescription drug benefits.
John George | Business Journal
Dr. James Judd demonstrates QuiqMeds’ prescription-drug vending machine. View Larger
The doctors figured out they could sell a variety of medicines at or below retail pharmacy prices, offer the convenience of patients getting a prescription filled before leaving the office and generate some extra revenue. Before long, the practice was filling 800 prescriptions a month. Two years ago, Judd and a group of partners developed the idea for a secure, automated drugdispensing system that would be leased to physicians by QuiqMeds. Last month, QuiqMeds recruited former Aetna U.S. Healthcare executive Melvin H. Stein to be the Plymouth Meeting company's first full-time CEO. http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2006/12/04/story3.html?t=printable (1 of 3)12/4/2006 9:10:46 AM
Montco firm installs vending machines in docs' offices - Philadelphia Business Journal:
Stein was attracted to the post because of the company's technology. "We have a very fragmented health-care delivery system," he said. "That's one of the reasons why health care costs as much as it does. Providing medication at the point of care seems so obvious and simple, but you needed this technology to make it happen." The company has six of its machines in area doctors' offices and is looking to grow that number to possibly as many as 20 machines over the next two to three months. At that time, Stein said, the company will consider expanding outside of Pennsylvania. QuiqMeds' vending machines typically carry 30 to 40 generic medications, chosen from a product line of more than 100 the company can provide. Stein said the company is adding common "lifestyle" medications, such as Viagra, to its inventory of products bought from manufacturers and wholesale pharmaceutical distributors. Mark E. Frankel, a QuiqMeds co-founder and vice president, said the vending machines are linked to a computer and monitored through the Internet. He said the system is set up so it takes about 10 seconds for a doctor to enter a prescription on a display monitor and another 15 seconds for an office manager to verify, obtain and confirm the prescription. QuiqMeds staff keeps track of inventory, and orders refills when needed. The company leases the entire system, including stocking services, for $240 per month. It estimates the typical practice will earn about $10,000 a year using the system. Frankel said 45 states allow physicians to give out medications in their office. The growing trend has raised concerns. Michael Cohen, who heads the nonprofit Institute for Safe Medication Practices in Huntingdon Valley, isn't a fan of doctors selling drugs in their offices. "It's such a conflict of interest," said Cohen. "The more drugs they sell, the more money the make." Cohen, while noting he wasn't familiar with QuiqMeds, is worried that having prescriptions filed in the doctor's office -- and taking pharmacists and pharmacy-benefit managers out of the equation -- eliminates a safety check and could lead to an increase in adverse drug interactions and allergic reactions. Judd said QuiqMeds provides patients with detailed safety information about each prescription. He said in his experience adverse drug-to-drug interactions are rare. "What's more common is pharmacies dispensing the wrong drug because they couldn't read somebody's handwriting," he said. In addition, Judd noted, having the physician's office dispense drugs improves patient compliance. "Studies have found something like 25 percent of patients don't fill prescriptions," he said. "We know our patients are getting their prescriptions, and if we give somebody a 100-day supply and he comes back 120 days later for a refill, we can ask him what he was doing for the other 20 days." Doctors moving into the prescription business is an answer to retail pharmacies getting into the primary-care business by setting up health clinics, staffed by nurses, that provide routine medical http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2006/12/04/story3.html?t=printable (2 of 3)12/4/2006 9:10:46 AM
Montco firm installs vending machines in docs' offices - Philadelphia Business Journal:
procedures. "I don't know whether the retail pharmacies are going to like us or dislike us," Frankel said, "but the whole industry is going through a lot of changes right now." QuiqMeds is licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health as a pharmaceutical wholesaler. New Jersey, however, isn't a likely target for QuiqMeds because the state's regulations include restrictions that require pharmacist involvement. Last year, Aetna launched a national pilot program in cities, including Philadelphia, in which vending-style machines were installed and supplied by MedVantx of San Diego in doctors' offices to provide free samples of generic medicines to patients. Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey launched a similar program in late 2004. Judd said the pilot programs primarily benefit insurance companies. "We help the doctors make a couple of bucks," he said. Jeff Taylor, Aetna's pharmacy director, said Aetna placed 21 machines dispensing free 30-day supplies of generics in the region and 338 across the country. The program, Taylor said, is designed to get patients started on lower-cost generic medication, when appropriate, and compete with the branded samples distributed by drug makers. The savings for Aetna come when it's time for a refill and its member sticks with the generic he may not have otherwise taken. jgeorge@bizjournals.com | 215-238-5137 Contact the Editor Need Assistance? More Latest News
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http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2006/12/04/story3.html?t=printable (3 of 3)12/4/2006 9:10:46 AM