HOME | CONTACT US | NEWS | LONG TERM CARE

Our Approach: • Responsive Service • Relevant Experience • Earned Trust • Unwavering      Commitment Aita & Associates Insurance Marketing, Inc. 7005 Hazel Cotter Court #G3 Sebastopol, CA 95472 Tel:  707-829-8606   888-829-8606 Fax:  707-829-8924 CA License #0649963

Managed Care Plans Provide Robots To Increase Generic Drug Use January 25, 2005 Physicians are increasingly using robotic drug dispensers to encourage their patients to take generic drugs as a way to lower pharmaceutical costs, which managed care plans say are their fastest growing expense, American Medical News reports. The generic prescribing rate of physicians who use the robots has increased by roughly 3% to 5% overall and by almost 12% in certain drug classes, said Rob Feney, CEO of MedVantx, which is marketing the robots. For example, Dr. Francis Solano, an internist at a University of Pittsburgh medical clinic, uses the robot several times a day by entering a pass code and selecting a drug name on a touch screen. He then removes a 30-day prepackaged sample from one of eight drawers, checks the contents with a bar-code scanner and gives patients a sheet of drug information printed by the machine. According to MedVantx, the robots generate 2,000 samples a year for Solano's patients, who save an average of $137 annually, American Medical News reports. The robots look like large filing cabinets fused to a computer printer and bank machines and contain samples of about 20 generic drugs, American Medical News reports. The machines are restocked with drug samples at no cost to physicians. About 45 medical offices in Pennsylvania, California, New Jersey and Oregon have the generic drug robots. MedVantx contracts with more than 20 health plans, American Medical News reports. Insurers are using other methods to promote generic drugs, including Web sites where physicians or plan members can calculate the cost of a brand-name drug compared to its generic counterpart, American Medical News reports (Kazel, American Medical News, 1/31). iHealthBeat is published daily for California HealthCare Foundation by The Advisory Board Company. © 2004 The Advisory Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

Home | Contact Us | News | About Us | Services Offered | Insurance Carriers Frequently Asked Questions | Existing Clients | Resources | Privacy Policy
Nancy J. Aita, CEBS, CA License # 0649963 Aita & Associates Insurance Marketing, Inc. 7005 Hazel Cotter Court #G3 Sebastopol, CA 95472 Tel: 707-829-8606 Fax: 707-829-8924 Toll-free: 888-829-8606 Email Us
Copyright ©2003-2008 Aita and Associates Insurance Marketing, Inc - All rights reserved.