March 17, 2023 – While it’s true digital health companies have helped drive the medical industry forward by providing convenience to the patient, many of these VC-backed startups are funded to ultimately displace the need for local doctors. The reason is simple. They want the money for profits and are willing to replace trusted care providers with cheaper call centers to maximize value for shareholders. With the emergency need for telemedicine reduced from the height of the pandemic, critics are now questioning if the direct-to-consumer (DTC) model truly provides effective and long-lasting care.
Many of these DTC digital health companies that rose to popularity over the last few years are now being recast as “fast food medicines” by the public where everyone gets the same few medications regardless of the finer points of symptoms. Most of these companies operate within as compounders meaning they do not have the same FDA-regulated and consumers don’t have full transparency into how the medicines are made.
One digital health company in dermatology is doing things differently. SKNV is innovating on behalf of local doctors and their patients. With their FDA-Registered 503B Outsourcing Facility, SKNV provides local dermatologists with customized medications managed conveniently for patients on a digital health platform with telehealth, in-office and ecommerce options that save time, improve care and add practice revenue. The SKNV difference is the medical relationship remains anchored with the local doctor enabling both in-office care and telehealth to be delivered directly to their patient.
SKNV empowers local doctors with exclusive access to the first pharmacy for sensitive skin, which is reported to affect up to 70% of patients. By providing needed access to customized medications, dermatologists offering SKNV can prescribe products that remove unnecessary additives and preservatives to better target the needs of sensitive skin patients. With SKNV, dermatologists can also adjust the strength levels of existing skin care drugs to create topical solutions that are applied directly to the affected area only.
With an eye towards also improving daily practice operations, SKNV saves the front office from the headache of dealing with prior authorization from insurance companies with affordable medications that often cost less than insurance co-pays. Another great example of how SKNV innovates on behalf of local doctors is through in-office dispensing of medications. Any local dermatology practice can now purchase and dispense their own Rx inventory. The ability for patients to pick up a customized medication during an appointment offers one-stop ease with the trusted care of a local dermatologist – a winning combination no DTC can match.
Dermatology practices that choose not to stock Rx inventory can still take advantage of SKNV’s customized medications by ordering the prescription from their EMR with free shipping to their patients’ homes. SKNV is designed to elevate local dermatology practices from every angle, providing patients with the best of both worlds in digital convenience and local, trusted care. Dermatologists can start prescribing SKNV today by selecting “SKNV Pharmacy” in their EMR. Local Practices can also talk with a SKNV consultant about the benefits of in-office dispensing.
The current list of SKNV customized medications available for EMR prescribing is available at www.sknvmatch.com.
