Free Market Well being, a know-how firm targeted on specialty medication, has acquired Beeline Rx, one other firm within the specialty drug area, it introduced on Tuesday.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Free Market Well being affords payers, together with Highmark, entry to a market of specialty pharmacies of all sizes. The payers are in a position to decide on which specialty pharmacies on this market they need to have of their community. Then when members are prescribed a specialty drug, Free Market Well being is ready to join that member to the best-fit pharmacy inside their well being plan’s community.
This compares to the standard method payers handle specialty medication, which is thru unique relationships with one single specialty pharmacy.
Now with the acquisition of Beeline Rx, Free Market Well being is hoping to additional streamline the specialty pharmacy area, notably round prior authorization. As a result of specialty medication are so costly, payer approval is often required for the sufferers to entry the drugs. Nevertheless, prior authorization typically results in delays for sufferers.
Beeline Rx, in the meantime, affords a platform to make this prior authorization course of extra environment friendly. It integrates with digital well being data and supplies entry to 320 million affected person medical charts. It additionally helps coordinate between prescribers and specialty pharmacies and supplies entry to medical coverage and protection tips. Free Market Well being will likely be integrating this know-how into its personal platform.
“What [Beeline Rx] constructed is throughout the facilitation of prior auth and modernizing the strategy, leveraging knowledge interoperability and actually sensible use circumstances of AI. … Incorporating their know-how into our care-driven market platform is all about delivering on the improved member expertise. On this occasion, it’s form of supercharging a number of the consumption capabilities that Free Market Well being already has,” stated Joe Cardosi, founder and CEO of Free Market Well being, in an interview.
The phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Beeline Rx’s co-founder and CEO, Steve Fleck, will likely be becoming a member of Free Market Well being as chief technique officer, whereas co-founder and president Josh Cordle will likely be chief product officer, and co-founder and COO David Palmer will likely be senior vice chairman of operations.
“Beeline Rx is dedicated to placing the affected person first—a dedication we proudly share with the [Free Market Health] crew,” Fleck stated in an announcement. “We couldn’t be extra excited to hitch forces, constructing modern know-how collectively to make sure the specialty pharmacy ecosystem is accountable to the sufferers who depend upon it.”
The acquisition comes as the price of specialty medication is skyrocketing — they at present account for greater than half of the entire drug spend. Whereas Cardosi doesn’t count on the specialty drug area to get easier, he thinks tech options like Free Market Well being and Beeline Rx will have the ability to assist help the area.
“I feel a contemporary know-how firm that’s aligning stakeholders, bringing the stakeholders nearer collectively, in the end serving the affected person goes to be a crucial piece of harnessing a few of that, managing a few of that complexity and fragmentation,” he stated.
One other firm within the specialty drug area is Waltz Well being, which affords a platform that connects well being plan members to the specialty pharmacy that most accurately fits their wants.
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