MedAdvisor platform picks up pace

Helping the medicine go down used to be the preserve of a spoonful of sugar. Now a new app is proving more effective.

MedAdvisor chief Josh Swinnerton expects 50 per cent of pharmacies to have the app by year’s end.

ASX-listed digital medical start-up MedAdvisor says it is ready to capitalise on the $665 billion problem of medicine adherence, with its platform now connected to 30 per cent of Australia’s pharmacies and about 180,000 patients.

“We make sure patients can manage their medication in advance without having to go to a pharmacy, in a completely automatic way,” CEO Robert Read told The Australian.

“We basically visualise on an internet connected device all the medications you’ve got at the pharmacy and your prescription history. We’re helping improve adherence to medication, enabling people to understand their medications better and reminding them to take their meds when they need to, too.”

Mr Read, an experienced private equity and venture capital investor and director who has held senior roles with ANZ Private ­Equity and St George VC, said there was evidence from the World Health Organisation showing in developed countries there was only 50 per cent adherence to long-term therapies, meaning effectively half of prescribed medication went to waste.

“It’s a bit like internet banking,” Mr Read said. “Before internet banking came in you were locked out of the system, you wouldn’t know what you had in your account before you spoke to the teller. We’re at the forefront of the transition; we’re giving people control back.”

Mr Read said he had invested heavily in the technology stack, and his app read and interpreted one million different doctor instructions.

“We have pharmacists on staff to make sure we get these ambiguities right,” he said.

“For instance if the doctor says take two per day, we know that it’s a 30 pack and will last for 15 days. So we set up reminders around 15 days’ worth of supply. You can also do what we call ‘tap to refill’.” MedAdvisor is also trialling a GP Link feature, allowing doctors to see how often a patient is taking their medication.

GP Link also allows patients to request prescriptions remotely from their GP via the app, freeing up waiting rooms (and also saving money for Medicare) from people who are just there to get a script refilled.

Mr Read said MedAdvisor expected to be in more than 50 per cent of pharmacies in Australia by mid-December and was looking at opportunities to expand internationally.

“Our aim is to drive in excess of 1 million patients onto the MedAdvisor platform over the next 12-18 months,” he said.