The partnership adds prescription drug cost, safety and efficacy information to HealthSparq’s healthcare procedure cost and quality tools
PORTLAND, OR — May 3, 2017 – HealthSparq and MedSavvy have teamed up to give people access to vital information they need to make important healthcare and medication choices. HealthSparq already helps health plan members understand all of their options when choosing a health provider – including cost and quality information based on their individual benefits. Now, the company is offering the same information for prescription drugs and treatments, thanks to MedSavvy’s report-card-style grading and benefits-integrated costs for more than 1,000 treatments and 100 conditions.
Helping people understand the cost and safety of their medications is more important than ever. Pharmaceutical spending is expected to reach $483 billion by 2020, and prices continue to rise faster than any other part of healthcare. The addition of MedSavvy’s prescription drugs insights from licensed pharmacists to HealthSparq’s platform delivers an integrated, easy-to-navigate experience for health plan members so they don’t feel lost when it comes to their medication options.
“We’ve heard crazy stories from people facing skyrocketing prescription drug costs and major safety issues, from injection pens to insulin and cancer drugs,” said Mark Menton, chief executive officer of HealthSparq. “MedSavvy has emerged as the perfect partner to help us empower patients to make smarter choices about their providers, treatments and medications. Together we’re giving people more control over their healthcare.”
HealthSparq works with more than 70 health plans, and their millions of members nationwide, to provide access to cost and quality information for 400+ medical treatments and hundreds of thousands of providers. The company can help people understand options and costs from the first sign of a medical need through recovery. The partnership with MedSavvy means HealthSparq’s health plan clients and their employer groups can manage medication spend, improve member outcomes with increased education and options, and better engage with members based on their healthcare needs.
According to Sean Karbowicz PharmD., R.Ph., founder and general manager at MedSavvy, “One size does not fit all in healthcare, so it’s critical for people to understand what the proof is of effectiveness and safety, as well as cost so they can participate in informed conversations with healthcare clinicians. We’re excited to work with HealthSparq to provide an integrated medication experience to help people make better, more informed healthcare choices.”
About HealthSparq
At HealthSparq, we help people make smarter healthcare choices by partnering with health plans to provide members with cost and quality information about doctors, hospitals and medical services, based on their individual benefits. We put people at the core of everything we do by conducting continuous usability testing, eliciting consumer feedback to enhance product development, hosting industry panels featuring everyday people, and bringing human stories to the forefront. Using these insights, we create solutions to help people understand and navigate the healthcare system better than ever before.
Growing since our founding in 2008 from our home in Portland, Oregon, we now serve more than 70 health plans and their 74 million members nationwide. Interested in helping us kick the hell out of healthcare? Contact us at HealthSparq.com or tweet us @HealthSparq.
About MedSavvy
Led by a team of specially trained licensed pharmacists, MedSavvy is pulling back the curtain on the world of prescription drugs to allow patients and doctors to make better decisions about their treatment options. Founder Sean Karbowicz R.PH., PharmD., and his team created a search-and-compare engine that allows people to search for around 100 conditions and nearly 1,000 treatments. MedSavvy uses a report-card-style rating system to help explain medication effectiveness, and combines that information with details about cost, side effects, safety and user reviews that any patient can understand and feel empowered to use. As an independent third party, MedSavvy is moving the healthcare industry forward, into an age of true transparency, empowering people to access real pharmacists, have educated conversations with their doctors about their treatment options, and save money. For more, visit medsavvy.com.
