Medication non-adherence costs the US around $300 billion a year and the repercussions, such as readmittance, are half a trillion.
This week we are highlighting ScriptDrop, a company solving a huge challenge to the healthcare industry: medication compliance and abandonment.
ScriptDrop (JSF ‘16) works directly with pharmacies to provide a delivery service that is intuitive to their workflow. This means no additional apps and costs to patients.
Jumpstart Foundry’s Take:
With the rise of the consumer, growth of the Tech Titans and expansion of all things instantaneous from Amazon Prime to Netflix, the pharmacy pick-up was ripe for innovation. ScriptDrop is meeting a massive market need with a solution that fits perfectly into today’s healthtech landscape meshing convenience and automation through prescription delivery.
Prescription delivery is a sub-segment of the broader medication adherence market. Some of the reasons for this problem include the following:
● High failure-to-fill rate: 20-30% of prescriptions never get filled
● High medication non-adherence: 50% of prescriptions for chronic conditions not taken as prescribed
● Inconvenience for patients: 37% of patients surveyed reported leaving a prescription at the pharmacy due to “inconvenience”
● Pharmacy access challenges: 36% of patients with potential pharmacy access issues
The ScriptDrop founding team came together after working with one another at CoverMyMeds, also in Columbus, that sold to McKesson in 2017.
Nick Potts, CEO and Founder Amanda Epp, President and Founder
ScriptDrop has signed deals with a combination of national and local/regional couriers all competing to earn the right to deliver your medications directly to your home. ScriptDrop also has established clients and partnerships including major hospital systems, grocery chains and pharmacy software systems.
ScriptDrop was recently spotlighted in Columbus’s Startup Spotlight’s publication by Andy Effler, Vice President JLL. The below interview is pulled from the publication, to read the full piece, click here.
Who is one entrepreneur (or person) you’d love to have coffee with?
Nick: Warren Buffett. He’s always amazed me with his singular focus on finding investments that are worthwhile. He takes an appropriate long-term view
(50 year) in an industry that consistently doesn’t (quarterly earnings reports).
Amanda: Oprah would be my choice to have a coffee with. She is one of the most influential women in the world and is one of the greatest philanthropists. She never took no for an answer, and empowers people to become better humans. I think we all could learn a lot from her, and I am inspired by how much she does to give back.
What has been the biggest hurdle you’ve dealt with that you didn’t anticipate when starting ScriptDrop?
Nick: Loss of co-founder. It’s not something you plan for, but I’ve found it happens with regularity.
Amanda: The ups and downs are even bigger and greater than I imagined. Not in a bad way, I know we will always overcome them (I am usually an optimist). But the highs are high and the lows are very low. That is why the team is so important. We all figure it out together and keep going, tomorrow is another day.
What have you as the founder and/or CEO learned about yourself since you began this journey?
Nick: Just how stubborn I truly am. I always knew it was bad, but now I know how bad.
Amanda: I am way more capable than what I thought and what I had been told.
If you were to invest in one thing in Columbus (aspect, infrastructure, etc.) what would it be? Why?
Nick: People. The only thing that can stop Columbus from becoming a hot bed for startups and tech companies is talent. If we can attract more talent in other ways, Columbus becoming a startup hub would turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Amanda: Infrastructure. We are starting to see this with CoverMyMeds building a new space, but there are amazing companies here, with awesome talent but we need to move faster on building the right infrastructure in the right areas to help the companies and community.
