Rethinking prescriptions… Is there a better way?

Every day, clinics and patients get frustrated at the administration time they spend in managing their prescriptions. From recalling prescriptions, issuing new prescriptions, dealing with closed pharmacies or stock issues, reconciling medicines, or getting angry at pharmacies for changes in prices and prescriptions access, managing medicines is confusing, disempowering, cumbersome and outdated.

This all stems from the ill-conceived approach of how prescriptions were digitized. In a time when patients were not to be trusted with their medicines, fearful that they would double spend or tamper with their prescriptions, and believing that the only trusted systems in the prescription ecosystem were physicians and pharmacies, e-prescriptions effectively bypassed the patient causing angst, pain, waste and even morbidity and mortality.

The impact of this enterprise centric and paternalistic approach ensures 25% of patients never pick up their prescriptions, and 50% abandon their prescriptions by 6 months – causing ill-health, hospitalisations, and wasted healthcare dollars.

ScalaMed believes there is a better way. We have re-thought the way prescriptions flow, and in the process have created an empowering system that delivers the quadruple aim – improved outcomes through adherence and engagement, reduced cost in finding cheaper medicines, improved workflow and admin burden for clinics, and a vastly superior experience for all.

ScalaMed, leverages blockchain technology in a proprietary way, to create unique digital prescriptions, sent directly from clinical software to an App on a patient’s phone. These immutable, portable, and unique digital prescriptions cant be tampered with or used twice, and deliver the patients a new level of empowerment. Not only can patients with ScalaMed choose their pharmacy for prescription redemption based on convenience, price comparison, access, and stock availability, ScalaMed offers the patient a source-of-truth digital medication list. With the patient’s digital prescription, they can be educated (why was I prescribed this, how do I take it safely and effectively), alerted (careful – there is an interaction here with your other meds or your allergy), and reminded (time to take your meds or get a new prescription). Patients can then share their medication list with new providers, hospitals and carers, to ensure the game of charades that happens with up to 40% of patients (I am taking a green pill, starts with “S”), does not need to occur again – making meds reconciliation safer and easier.

John – a diabetic and allergic to sesame seeds, is, among other medicines, using insulin and an Epipen. John through travel, work, and through simply being human, has repeatedly been without access to his lifesaving medicines. If only John could have his prescriptions on him 24/7, not only would he not have to desperately call his clinic, or present to an emergency department when he requires his medicines, but John he can live a more fulfilling, empowered, and autonomous life, with a reduced risk of morbidity and mortality.

ScalaMed is already piloting its technology in clinics and pharmacies, demonstrating a more efficient, impactful, cost saving, and seamless way to manage prescriptions. ScalaMed frees clinics to focus on more value-oriented activities, and empowers patients to take greater ownership and control over their health.