MedVantx Announces New Tools for Payors to Initiate Consumer Engagement and Facilitate Better Medication Adherence Starting at the Physician Office Point of Care

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- MedVantx, Inc., a leading provider of point-of-care medication adherence and direct-to-patient consumer engagement programs, today announced the launch of its new suite of MedStart Connect™ tools for Payors.  MedVantx pioneered first ever consumer access to free initial generic medication therapy in U.S. physician offices through the Company's proprietary "ATM-like" medication management & sampling system, the MedStart™ cabinet.  Through an integrated network of 4,000 physicians and sponsored by 40% of the largest U.S. Payor organizations, MedVantx has eliminated a key structural gap in primary medication adherence—the fact that 30-50% of initial prescriptions are never filled at the pharmacy—by providing initial medication samples at the point of care.  The program has also been shown to enhance patient satisfaction levels and has fundamentally changed the medication access experience for over 3.8 million consumers to date.  The Company's MedStart Connect™ program has been expanded to now provide Payors with a series of new tools to better engage and communicate with their membership in a rapidly changing marketplace.  In addition to receiving their initial medication at the point of care, plan members can now also receive customized health plan specific medication and disease state education materials,  adherence management and wellness program information, and an integrated suite of HIPAA compliant relationship management programs designed to increase engagement and dialog between consumers and their health plans on an ongoing basis.  

Driven by the rapid growth in consumerism and the sweeping changes within the Affordable Care Act, the health insurance marketplace is undergoing a structural shift from B2B to B2C marketing channels. According to the 2013 Aon Hewitt Health Care Survey, approximately 56 percent of employers now utilize some form of high deductible or consumer driven plan design for their employees.  As health plan members become consumers and are empowered to evaluate and make individual healthcare purchase decisions, Payors are looking for new tools to increase their reach, attract new members, differentiate their brand , increase patient satisfaction and to retain their membership in an extremely complex and competitive market

The expanded MedStart™ Connect tools now include:

• Access to initial prescription medication therapy samples at the point of care, ensuring patients get their initial medication (primary adherence)
• Payor branding services including customized messaging and transaction receipts to plan members
• Medication-specific adherence messaging for key therapeutic areas such as diabetes & high cholesterol
• Delivery of payor wellness program and incentive information at point of care
• Seasonal Medicare Part-D education and enrollment information
• Fully HIPAA compliant inbound and outbound call center capabilities
• CMS approved medication data model for integration into population health management and MTM enrollment programs.

"Consumer satisfaction and engagement is the next frontier for managed care," said Robert Feeney, Founder and CEO of MedVantx, Inc.  "Payors need new tools to differentiate their service offerings directly to consumers and strategies to better engage their provider networks to help eliminate costly gaps in care."  Mr. Feeney continued, "Studies suggest that 30-40% of chronic prescriptions are never filled which is really a wake-up call to the industry that the current consumer experience and engagement model just isn't working.  The whole concept of Accountable Care or Medical Home won't be achieved unless we can eliminate these initial gaps in care and better engage patients in their healthcare."  Mr. Feeney added, "Our Payor and provider network is extremely excited about the opportunity to create a more consumer centric pharmacy experience including streamlined medication access, integrated communication programs and new support services for their membership." 

The MedStart™ Connect program has successfully completed pilot programs and demonstrated consumer engagement, enrollment and retention rates of greater than 70%.  MedStart™ Connect for Payors will be available to participating MedVantx Network Payors effective January 1, 2014.

About MedVantx, Inc.

MedVantx is the leading provider of point-of-care medication adherence and direct-to-patient consumer engagement programs.  We are committed to streamlining access, reducing costs and providing data and interventions to benefit patients, physicians, health plans, employers and manufacturers. The MedStart Connect program provides for a fully-automated, integrated, point-of-care to consumer home delivery channel focused on increasing the convenience, quality and cost effectiveness of health care. MedStart Connect includes free initial therapy samples of prescription and over-the-counter medication at the point of care, a patient outreach program providing drug information, adherence management services, and convenient consumer home delivery through its mail order pharmacy.  MedVantx has served over 3.8 million consumers through an integrated network including 40% of leading U.S. health plans, manufacturers and more than 4,000 prescribers.  For additional information MedVantx and MedStart Connect visit www.medvantx.com and www.medstart-connect.com.  

MedVantx Contact:
JD Haldeman
(858) 964-1497
[email protected]

SOURCE MedVantx, Inc.