Amid speculation on its performance and profitability, the e-commerce division of USKO has announced that it has enabled over 1800 pharmacies with its MediSwitch product.
Peter Kennedy, business development director at MediSwitch, confirms that the product is installed in approximately 1860 pharmacies nationwide, and, of these, 1250 are transacting on a regular basis.
Commenting on the discrepancy between enabled sites and active sites, Kennedy says, "Some pharmacies have not yet utilised the product because they have not received claims for MediSwitch-enabled schemes and administrators."
"As we expand our operations and strategic partnerships, our aim is to enable these sites to increase their volume of transactions," he adds.
In March last year, MediSwitch ran a pilot site with software vendor, Computassist. The vendor tested and developed several concepts and systems around MediSwitch, and by May of the same year was ready to roll out the completed product to its substantial user base. Subsequently, 700 pharmacy sites went live on MediSwitch in just four months.
"Of the pharmacy software vendors, Computassist delivered the largest user base and was proactive in dealing with any challenges that arose," says Kennedy. "Currently, 82% of its original installed base is using MediSwitch regularly."
MediSwitch performs three main types of transactions: eligibility checking, batch claims and real-time claims. By checking a patient`s status with the medical aid, MediSwitch `s eligibility transaction allows both parties to minimise the fraudulent use of funds. In addition, batch claims sent by service providers are acknowledged and returned in real-time. Kennedy believes, however, that MediSwitch`s biggest benefit for pharmacies lies in its ability to guarantee payment of claims in real-time. "Not only does this translate into cost reduction and an improved service offering for the medical aids and administrators, it also speeds up payment cycles and reduces bad debt for the service providers," he explains.
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USKO
USKO Ltd, one of SA`s leading listed IT groups, has the services, resources, and products necessary to offer the business sector a complete e-business solution. This offering is supported by the 3 main divisions of USKO Ltd, namely: Communications, Software & Services and e-Commerce.
USKO Communications focuses on delivering the infrastructures and methodologies for Networking, Internet services and MS Business Solutions.
USKO Software and Services provides solutions in the areas of Business Intelligence, Customer Relationship Management, ERP and large-scale development, all based on world-class products.
USKO e-Commerce offers creative, technical and business strategy services that include management consulting, business strategy planning, Web development and design, as well as application development and integration. This division is also the home of USKO`s transaction switching solutions.
The integration of these core competencies, backed by leading-edge technology, makes USKO the IT partner for the new millenium. For more information, take a look at USKO`s web site on http://www.USKO.com