The next article in our “Simplex Ventures Founders Series” features Medzoomer – an on-demand prescription delivery platform. Through its app, patients are able to access their medications from the convenience of their phone.
A Q&A with Medzoomer’s Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), Dr. Richard Munassi MD MBA
Hello! Can you please share a quick introduction of Medzoomer and your role within the company?
I’m Dr. Richard Munassi MD MBA, co-founder and CSO of Medzoomer. We are a last-mile prescription delivery company with a heavy data play. Think Uber Eats, but for medication – except we are business to business to consumer. We provide pharmacies the software, data aggregation tools, and the driver fleet to move medications from where they are to where they need to be, safely and securely, while tracking and collecting critical data along the way.
As a last-mile prescription delivery company that’s focused on providing secure medication at scale, what problem is Medzoomer built to solve?
We remove friction between patients and their medications, solving a critical problem for value-based care.
Can you tell us what inspired the founding of Medzoomer?
My co-founder and I met through a mutual contact and we were both looking at the problem of medication access through two different lenses. I was looking at it from the scope of a provider, frustrated that patients throughout the country struggle to get their medications monthly due to access issues. My co-founder actually experienced this problem himself. Following a back surgery, he had no way to get his post-surgery antibiotics and pain medications. He was forced to take a rideshare to his pharmacy and wait in line for 45 minutes while in pain and bleeding, and found the process frustrating enough to want to find a way to solve it. Together, we have done just that.
Can you walk us through how Medzoomer works and the value-add for both pharmacists and consumers?
For consumers, Medzoomer brings their medications from the pharmacy right to their doorstep in a safe and convenient manner. I think we can all relate to the need and value of this in a day and age where we can get essentially anything delivered to us, from groceries and food to even alcohol and gasoline for our cars.
For pharmacists, as well as for insurance companies, hospitals, and more, we provide the strong value-add of decreasing medication abandonment rates and increasing medication access while providing a much needed and in-demand service to their patient population via our technology platform and driver fleet.
Can you share a Medzoomer success story with us?
We had a patient whose nearby grocery store, a short walk from her home, decided to stop offering pharmacy services. This was a large multi-state brand and she lived in a relatively rural community, leaving her with limited options to get her medication as she didn’t have access to a vehicle. As a result, she suffered as she struggled to get her medication refills in a timely manner, and was even hospitalized because of it. Luckily, her new pharmacy implemented Medzoomer and we were able to ensure she never missed another dose again.
As Medzoomer continues, where are some areas where you see the company growing?
Our goal as a company is to deliver every medication to every patient, everywhere. Medzoomer is in nearly 30 states, and we want to continue to grow our footprint nationwide. We also anticipate expanding our services to include Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) data collection, Tele-Pharmacy services, and more in order to provide additional value to our Enterprise customers while continuing to solve the problem of medication access.
Where can people go to learn more about Medzoomer?
I am always available via email at Richard@Medzoomer.com to connect with people who want to learn more or join us on our journey to solve healthcare’s most critical problem. You can also visit our website at https://medzoomer.com/.