SRX was established in 2015 by a group of experts in long-term care (LTC) and skilled nursing space who wanted to develop a solution that addressed the complexity involved in managing pharmacy spend. Its founders, who have extensive experience in post-acute care, insurance, and pharmacy, identified an opportunity to use technology and automation to innovate solutions for the industry. This was particularly true as it related to the incredible amounts of data surrounding pharmacy bills and management in the LTC and skilled nursing space. The next step was building the right technology team to develop the solution. Scott Taylor Founding Principal & CEO explains, “The key was gaining access to all the information like electronic health records, pharmacy contracts, pricing databases, formularies, etc., and figuring out a way to integrate all the data in a way that truly adds value, provides insight, and measurably affects outcomes and efficiencies. With the right IT team in place, we were able to tie it all together. The final result is a technology solution that provides LTC operators with the lowest net cost on their pharmacy spend.”
SRX’s solution is designed to streamline pharmacy management regardless of the size of the operator
SRX keeps its focus on developing technology innovations for the LTC industry. As the client base has grown, so have the number of strategic partnerships with other key players in the industry. These relationships keep SRX closely tied to the needs of the industry and allow it to rapidly deploy the skilled team of developers, pharmacists, analysts, and strategists to solve new challenges. A great example is the recent development of Bridge, a communication tool that allows facilities to meet new requirements from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These requirements set out original reporting and communication standards for LTC facilities that must now report, often daily, COVID-19 updates to families of residents as well as CMS. Bridge automates these communications and sends text messages and emails from a single source. It also offers the ability to send surveys to visitors and employees to screen them for COVID-19 symptoms or other health issues before entering facilities.
Pharmacy spend is the largest cost center for LTC operators outside labor. By implementing technology and processes that manage this cost center, facilities can significantly impact their bottom line and redirect important dollars to patient care, improving facilities, or hiring new staff. The challenge in managing costs stems from the complexity involved in adequately analyzing a pharmacy bill. Without a system in place to review and identify these errors, there are lost opportunities to obtain rebates, credits, and returns, as well as identify areas for cost savings and waste reduction. By automating this review process, SRX’s technology does all the work and identifies and submits what can be millions in annual eligible rebates, holds pharmacies accountable to contract pricing and terms, and provides valuable analytics and insight in monthly reports.
Obtaining the lowest net cost requires putting controls in place that direct the relationship with pharmacies. Some pharmacies can ‘adjudicate’ claims at the point-of-sale, meaning that they have technology controls in place that prevent rules from being broken. On the facility side, formularies guide clinicians in prescribing selected drugs that often offer therapeutic equivalents at reduced pricing or that are eligible for rebates, Adjudication alerts notify clinicians and suggest alternatives when off-formulary drugs are prescribed. Other rules governed by adjudication include a minimum or maximum orders, contract pricing, etc. However, many pharmacies are either unable or unwilling to adjudicate, leaving facilities without the means or ability to enforce rules proactively. To solve this, SRX developed a unique drug utilization review (DUR) process that provides a monthly report that facilities can use to implement these rules. This monthly report serves as a backstop that allows facilities to receive credits and issue returns for line items that don’t adhere to established rules. This backstop is a critical tool when adjudication isn’t possible and provides the insight and control facilities need to better manage their pharmacy relationships.
From using innovative technologies that keep customers active and engaged, to virtual visits with family members, to applications that integrate with electronic health records (EHRs), the LTC industry is making technology advancements that are improving the way things are done. SRX’s proprietary technology is one example of solutions that integrate with EHRs. SRX’s revolutionary technology provides both the ability to have commercially-viable solutions for the LTC setting, as well as dozens of tools and applications built from the ‘ground-up’ that are specifically customized for the intricacies of the nursing homeworld. It was critical for SRX’s solution to integrate with and access drug pricing databases. What makes the technology so useful is that SRX is able to distill the complexity of the industry by using automation and expertise, and instead make pharmacy spend management simple and intuitive.
SRX’s solution is designed to streamline pharmacy management regardless of the size of the operator. The average operator profile has 20 facilities under management and spends approximately $7 million on pharmacy bills annually. By implementing SRX’s technology, clients can see an average of ~10%, or $700k, in waste savings and improved efficiencies, and rebates totaling more than $500k. Obviously, these numbers are dependent on a range of variables, but the overall effect is always a significant reduction in their overall pharmacy spend.
By leveraging the experience of its leadership team, they are continuing to develop new technologies and work toward strategically solving industry challenges. In addition to building marketable products and services, their strategy for capturing additional market share also includes establishing strategic partnerships with other major players in the industry. SRX wants to be a recognized leader in the industry, not only for managing pharmacy spend but for much broader concerns as well including advocating for industry interests. Ultimately, SRX wants to be viewed as an essential service provider and a trusted industry partner.
