Prescriber’s Choice, a Florida-based pharmaceutical company, has created a new model for dermatological prescriptions where medications can be customized and dispensed at the time of the office visit. The Prescriber’s Choice model promotes patient savings while allowing dermatologists the ability to more effectively prescribe.
According to a recent American Academy of Dermatology article “soaring cost of prescription drugs has generated outrage among physicians and patients. Some drugs- even generics-carry eye popping costs, and health plans are increasingly asking people to shoulder a greater share of the cost.” As a result, patients are refusing to pay and leaving the pharmacy without their prescribed medication. This leads to a healthcare void. Physicians are unable to effectively practice and patients suffer.
Dr. Spencer Malkin, the CEO of Prescriber’s Choice, is solving this problem by working with doctors to create customized prescriptions for their patients to be dispensed at the time of the office visit.
“It’s a completely new paradigm that allows the physician and the patient greater flexibility and control, ” Dr. Malkin said. “Instead of completing frustrating and costly prior authorizations that are frequently denied or that lead to less effective medications being used, physicians make better use of their time, knowledge, and skills by personalizing their patients medications. This changes the convention. Instead of patients presenting to a pharmacy, dealing with medication substitutions, and being floored by the out of pocket expenses, they are able to receive a customized medication directly from their physician at the time of their appointment. In addition, it has the potential to save the healthcare system billions, as there is nothing being billed to the insurance carriers.”
Prescriber’s Choice makes it practical for physicians to deliver this exceptional service at a fraction of the cost.
“It is a win, win, win!” said Dr. Malkin. “The physicians are able to practice unencumbered by third party payors, patients receive medications that are tailored for their specific conditions, and there is substantial cost savings to the patient and to the health system. This restores balance to a specialty that has experienced a shift away from the medical practice of dermatology and towards cosmetics and aesthetics. With the assistance of Prescriber’s Choice, I expect to see a reversal of this trend.”
Today, this business model is being used in 17 states with plans to expand nationwide.