How GoodRx could transform the healthcare industry

Abhiram Muddu
Aug 23, 2017 · 3 min read

The healthcare ecosystem has been moving towards providing patient-centric care, setting off a new trend in the industry with a lot of old players scrambling for newer ways and means to better serve customers. In the midst of this transformation, a few new entrants have been making waves under the carpet to solve the inefficiencies in this space. Take for example GoodRx, a Priceline for pills, that has brought transparency to one of the most controversial industries of our times. Pharmaceutical companies in the US are not tightly bound by price control regulations, which has led to an open market with variable pricing for the same generic drug. GoodRx is providing users an efficient and cheaper way to buy prescription drugs much like the way Priceline has disrupted the airline industry.

GoodRx’s mobile app allows users to compare prices of prescription drugs from local pharmacies and offers coupons to those interested in making a purchase. With your ZIP code attached to your profile on the app, you can shop in specific locations and redeem their coupons for a discount. What’s even better is that their in-app priority shopping experience that can help you beat the Queue line, and pop a pill before it is too late. The user experience has been designed to accommodate not only specific medications but also symptomatic searches for those who want to save time searching for a generic drug online.

Screenshots of the current GoodRx mobile app

Being an out of insurance, international student (the perfect user for GoodRx), I found it very easy to shop around for my acute back pain a few days ago. The convenience and the simplicity of the discovery and purchase clearly showed in my face as I thanked the makers of the app.

The future holds good for GoodRx as this space is heavily regulated and they have a 5-year headstart. Acquiring Iodine, a drug information repository, will prove to be a shot in the arm for GoodRx, which can benefit from all the data that is being captured on their platform. Integrations with the Apple Carekit and other ecosystem enablers will help GoodRx prescribe preventative measures for users by tracking their health and well-being on a frequent basis.

GoodRx with health data integration (concept design)

Partnering with Insurers and HCPs would go a long way in helping GoodRx establish themselves as a platform that can dig into Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and help patients with disease management. Capturing and bringing all the information about a patient gives a complete view of insight into care coordination, outcomes-based reimbursement, health management, and patient engagement. Gaining this 360-degree view of the patient can also eliminate redundant and expensive testing, reduce errors in prescribing drugs, and even avoid preventable deaths. A vast majority of the data captured through these sources is unstructured, and the real challenge would be to build a data analytics platform that can distill actionable insights from the big cluster of data points. It goes without saying that companies such as GoodRx will be in a powerful position to make use of all this data to transform people’s lives on a daily basis.

)

Abhiram Muddu

Written by

Curious Scientist | Passionate artist | Romancing startups, tech products, and nirvana |

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade