J.B. Powell had focused his career on patient engagement and education in the healthcare industry, and he noticed that the top problem patients encountered when accessing medications was affordability. He realized there wasn’t an easy way for patients to discover the potential savings available to them.
So, in 2023, Powell launched RxLink, an online platform that matches patients with the most affordable options for their prescriptions.
According to a poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov, about one third of Americans have not filled a prescription because they could not afford it.
“Non-adherence to the medications patients should be taking lead to poor patient outcomes that drive things like hospitalizations and readmissions to the hospital,” said Powell, “which end up costing the system a lot of money.”
After its launch last year, the Chapel Hill-based startup has saved patients an average of $80 per prescription each time they use RxLink. RxLink has partnered with about a dozen health systems across the country, most of which have over 1 million patients.
When a patient gets a new prescription written, RxLink receives the patient’s electronic medical records, including their insurance information. RxLink will check for out-of-pocket costs and search a database of medication discount programs to calculate savings, which are then delivered to the patient via an automated text message. The text message lists the calculated savings available and a discount code, as well as a link that takes the user to a web app with the savings offer.
Powell said that RxLink is the only company to his knowledge that provides a patient-first price transparency.
“You will be provided with a pre-identified best way to afford your medications, for the cheapest amount possible, to take to the pharmacy,” said Powell.
How they make money
RxLink is always free to patients. The discounts are ultimately funded by retail pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers or drug manufacturers/brands.
The startup not only helps out providers by taking on the burden of helping patients find the best prescription purchasing options—thus improving medication adherence and patient outcomes—but it is also focused on driving up utilization for the health system’s own pharmacies.
RxLink identifies patients who could benefit by using the health system’s own pharmacy, rather than using a national chain like CVS or Walgreens, which contributes about $10 million to those health systems in net margin contribution. RxLink receives a small percentage of the growth that it helps drive, a key revenue stream for the startup.
Powell said that RxLink is hoping to break even this year.
To date RxLink has received some investment from individual angels, and recently landed its first investment from an angel fund via the Triangle Tweener Fund.
With the Tweener Fund, RxLink has been connected with several other early-stage startups. Powell said this is a great group to be involved with, using these other entrepreneurs as a “great sounding board.”
“We view it as a nice next step in our evolution as a company as we continue to grow and, ultimately, look for additional funding down the road,” said Powell.
Powell grew up watching his father lead a career as an entrepreneur, and now Powell is following in his footsteps. Powell said he’s been enjoying the creativity and problem-solving aspects of running RxLink, and he and his partners have been learning through live data and customer feedback to make adjustments to their startup.
