Advanced Rx Offers Prescriptions On Site

By Zoe Francis, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Service Benefits Doctors & Patients

Life can be a whole lot easier for doctors and patients who take advantage of Advanced Rx Management's innovative services.

The Hacienda-based company allows patients to get prescription medications at the physician's office.

"We are a point-of-care management company for physicians and pharmacies around the country," Erin Merver, Advanced Rx marketing director, said. "A point-of-care service is when a patient is at a physician's practice and they're seeing the doctor. If they're prescribed a medication, they can pick it up at point-of-care through our service."

The company works closely with physicians to improve their patient care.

"Our sole focus is the provider," Merver said. "We want the provider to really benefit from this. We feel that by focusing on the provider's needs, that will in turn maximize the patient's experience."

Advanced Rx's services can also provide a new revenue stream for doctors who can provide patient medications at the office.

"Instead of the revenue going to a pharmacy, it's staying in-house and providing an ancillary revenue stream," she noted. "It benefits both the patient and provider."

The company's scope is expansive enough to fit a variety of medical practices.

"We can fit the needs of providers, whatever they may be," Merver said. "We're able to go into small practices up to huge multi-location facilities and create custom point-of-care services for their needs. We can do a simple over-the-counter dispensary all the way up to a full retail pharmacy."

Advanced Rx provides all the support and management needed for dispensing medications on site.

"We manage the entire program and make it very simple for them," she said. "We are managing the inventory. We are billing for them to the insurance company. As part of our management, we're ensuring that their programs are fully compliant with state and federal regulations. It's a good service that we provide."

The company has staff members who specialize in regulations in the 17 states where Advanced Rx currently operates.

"We have state-specific billing and contracting specialists," Merver said. "A lot of our clients are in the South. We'll have multiple people whose entire expertise is Tennessee. We're very specialized. That's how we manage and make sure everything is compliant. We dedicate the personnel to make sure everything is how it should be."

Advanced Rx was founded in 2009 by two visionaries who saw the need to simplify the process of filling prescriptions.

"They started talking about how there's a huge void in the industry," she said. "There are other (companies that) are doing what we do, but they're not focusing on the detail for the physicians and providing the service. They focused on the billing and providing transparent accounting."

The company's services are especially popular with orthopedic and pain management doctors who often see patients with the same issues, many times covered under workers compensation. Practices with multiple specialists under one roof also prefer the ease of Advanced Rx's services.

"Our number one goal is to service our clients, who are the physicians," Merver said. "We partner with them to give their patients a better experience and a more well-rounded treatment plan. In many cases, they can leave that appointment with their prescription in hand instead of having to go across town and wait in line to have their prescription filled at a pharmacy."

Learn more about Advanced Rx Management at advancedrxmgt.com.

Photo: Advanced Rx Management Staff, outside their office, in Hacienda

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