Overview

 

Our project involved building a groundbreaking cloud-based pharmacy card platform designed to streamline the provision of commercial medicines used in clinical trials. This platform bridges the gap between patients and a network of over 60,000 retail and specialty pharmacies in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, functioning similar to a retail prescription card.

 

Challenge

 

The primary challenge was to create an efficient, user-friendly system that could handle the complex logistics of clinical trial medication distribution. Traditional methods involved cumbersome supply chain processes, including inventory management, storage, logistics, sourcing, and procurement, which were costly and time-consuming.

 

Solution

 

Utilizing the robust scalability and security features of Microsoft’s Azure Platform, we developed the industry's first cloud-based pharmacy card platform. This system allows trial site coordinators to generate and provide payment cards to trial participants, who can then use these cards at pharmacies to receive commercially available medications. The pharmacies process the claims and get reimbursed through their standard channels, while the Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) handle the claims and debit an account pre-funded by the trial sponsor.

 

The platform we developed includes a portal for configuring clinical trial sponsors, CROs, partner sites, users, formulary auditing, and payment. It features a business rules configuration component, a document library, and a full auditing model. The system significantly reduces the time required for various processes, enabling sites to generate and distribute payment cards instantly. Additionally, it incorporates a robust auditing and reporting platform using Microsoft’s PowerBI for detailed study metrics, claims, financial, and audit reporting.

 

Impact

 

Since becoming operational in 2019, the platform has revolutionized the way clinical trials manage and distribute medications. The efficient and streamlined process has eliminated many of the traditional supply chain costs associated with inventory management, logistics, and waste destruction. This innovation not only represents a significant leap forward in clinical trial management but also demonstrates our capability in delivering complex, industry-specific solutions.

 

Summary

 

This case study exemplifies our expertise in leveraging advanced cloud technologies to transform and modernize critical healthcare processes. The Pharmacy Card Payment Platform stands as a testament to our ability to innovate and execute solutions that address specific challenges in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, significantly improving efficiency and greatly reducing operational costs.