MedVantx MedStart™ Solves Problem Highlighted in Study Published in Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine - Expired Medications in Physician Office Sample Closets

SAN DIEGO, June 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MedVantx, Inc., the company that created the first ever controlled access to generic samples in US physician offices, today highlighted it's MedStart cabinet as a solution to the problem highlighted in a recent study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.  In the study, researchers reported that physician offices often lack the controls and tools to appropriately manage pharmaceutical samples onsite, including tracking lot number and expiration, as well as the ability to identify historical sampled patient data in the event of manufacturer product recalls.  Nearly 30% of the drug packages in one of the clinics evaluated in the study were expired.

MedVantx provides a first-of-its-kind capability for controlled access and tracking of sample medications, including generics, in US physician offices with its proprietary automated ATM-like cabinet, MedStart™.  The MedStart™ cabinet automates the traditional pharmaceutical sampling process for physicians and the MedStart Patient Profile Link™ interface captures physician sampling data in the patients' health plan electronic medical record.  Through MedStart, doctors can provide patients with generic, brand and OTC samples covering the majority of common acute and chronic conditions while the patient is in the office.  The cabinet's bar code technology automatically captures medication lot number, expiration date information and provides a web-based patient specific registry of individual physician sampling history that can be used by physicians and health systems in the event of a medication recall. 

"As the prescribing process becomes more and more technologically advanced, it's amazing that the majority of physicians' offices and health systems lack automated sample management tools and are still tracking the sample medication use process with paper, pen and clip boards," said Nicole Cardosa, MedVantx Vice President of Physician Sales.  "The fact that in this day and age, medication samples are given to patients without any integration into their online medical record is really one of the last open quality issues in the medication use process.  Physicians, health systems and payors now have the opportunity to use MedVantx patient specific sample medication data to increase patient adherence, reduce gaps in care and enhance safety."

As reported in the May-June issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, researchers took inventories of the drug sample closets at 10 primary care clinics in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Of the 12,581 sample boxes or packages examined, 14% were expired. (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22570403/).

About MedVantx, Inc.

MedVantx is an innovative consumer medication management and delivery company committed to streamlining access, reducing costs and providing highly relevant information to benefit patients, physicians, health plans, employers and manufacturers.  The MedVantx platform is a fully automated / integrated point of care to consumer home delivery channel focused on increasing the quality and cost effectiveness of the last non-managed pharmaceutical channel - the physician's office sample closet.  The Company's consumer medication management platform includes free initial prescription and over-the-counter medication therapy at the point of care; a consumer helpline providing drug information, adherence management and reimbursement assistance; and convenient consumer home delivery through its mail order pharmacy. MedVantx has served over 3.5 million consumers through an integrated network including health plans, manufacturers and more than 3,500 prescribers.  For additional information about MedVantx visit www.medvantx.com.

Contact:
JD Haldeman
(858) 625-2990 ext. 130
[email protected]

SOURCE MedVantx, Inc.