Move comes as nation gears up for paperless prescriptions
Kings Transport has linked with MedAdvisor in a medication delivery deal as developments in electronic prescriptions (e-prescribing) proceed apace.
King will look after transport and logistics needs of the listed digital medication management company’s network of 3,300 pharmacies and its individual customer app and SMS reminder service calls.
“Kings is proud to partner with MedAdvisor to provide distribution solutions with a commitment to emerging market services and technologies,” Kings CEO Barry Thompson says.
“We have had a long-standing presence within the wellness industry, so we clearly understand the strict guidelines of transporting and delivering medications.
“Our customer service and driver excellence form a crucial component to our value offering, with technology that provides additional security and inventory management benefits.”
MedAdvisor says it made the choice due to Kings’ national footprint, extensive experience in the safe and appropriate delivery of medication and endorsement by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
It adds that access to Kings delivery fulfilment service will be “provided seamlessly as part of each network pharmacy’s PlusOne subscription” and MedAdvisor will receive a share of the delivery fee.
The value ofthe deal was not revealed.
Read how the Pharmacy Guild of Australia came to back King Transport, here
E-prescribing is a strong focus of the federal Department of Health, which released preliminarytechnical framework documents to software vendors in September through the Australian Digital Health Agency and which gained $28 million in funding for a national system in last year’s federal Budget.
“Patients are demanding greater convenience in their healthcare experience,” MedAdvisor CEO Robert Read says.
“MedAdvisor already partners with over 55 per cent of Australian pharmacies to help them deliver unparalleled convenience to their customers.
“By adding enhanced convenience services like delivery to their customer proposition, community pharmacies can deepen the vital relationship between patients and their regular pharmacist.
“Having these services activated in readiness for e-prescribing is a huge opportunity and risk mitigation for community pharmacy.”
Following technical integration, the initial rollout aimed to begin in the first half of next calendar year, focusing on major metropolitan centres.