We built Photon because we need it too.

We’ve all been there.

Making multiple calls to your doctor's office or pharmacy, waiting for 30 minutes on hold, traveling far and wide to different pharmacies, pacing near the pharmacy counter, sometimes walking away empty-handed, all while trying to squash your anxiety of not knowing the status of your medications–or possibly having to go without them. 

It really shouldn't be this way.

The pharmacy experiences of our teammates Alexis and Diya fuel us at Photon Health: we all deserve better, and we're making that "better" possible.

We know their stories will resonate with you too.

🏃Chasing the missing medication: Alexis’ Story 

“Sorry, we don’t have your prescription.” 

Alexis felt her stomach drop. This was not what she wanted to hear after driving 40 minutes to the pharmacy.

She called her doctor immediately, who confirmed he did send the prescription to this pharmacy. (☎️ Call #1) But, thirty minutes later, it was still nowhere to be found. 

With her pain–and anxiety–increasing, Alexis asked the pharmacist, “Can you help me transfer the prescription somewhere else?” She hoped to pick it up ASAP and somewhere closer to where she was staying that week. 

“Not now. You’ll have to ask the other pharmacy to call us for the transfer, once we have your prescription,” the pharmacist replied. 

In the evening, Alexis called the pharmacy, relieved to learn that her prescription was finally received. (☎️ Call #2)

Then, following instructions, she called a different, nearby pharmacy to request a transfer, only to be told, “You need to ask your original pharmacy to call us.” (☎️ Call #3)

Alexis sighed. She didn't want to be stuck between two pharmacies, so she resigned to making another 80-minute round trip to the original pharmacy.

The next day, she called to check on medication status, only to be disappointed again. “We don’t have an estimated pick-up time,” she heard. (☎️ Call #4) 

While Alexis, a member of Photon’s Customer Experience Team, eventually got her medication, she couldn’t help but to think: I would’ve had a much better experience if my doctor had used Photon. 

Wait–how would Photon help?

We’ve all been in Alexis’ shoes. But, we at Photon know it really doesn’t have to be this way. 

If her doctor had used Photon, she would have… 

1. ☎️ Avoided making 4 phone calls:
   1. Photon confirms receipt of the prescription (Rx) and a medication pick-up time with the pharmacy, then sent Alexis a text with this confirmation. 
   2. Without calling, she could have transferred the Rx to a 2nd pharmacy using the secure webapp Photon provides. Then, Photon would take care of the calls regarding the transfer.
2. 🚙 Avoided 80 minutes of driving:
   1. She would have made 1 trip to the pharmacy (not 2) with confidence that her medication was ready. 
   2. She could have picked a different pharmacy, closer to her temporary location that week. Photon offers flexibility in pharmacy choice, so she wouldn’t have been stuck with her “preferred” pharmacy on file with her doctor’s.
3. ⏰ Gotten her medication sooner:
   1. Urgency is built into Photon’s product and services–thus, Photon tackles issues quickly and keeps patients in the loop throughout the process. 

The gap between what we know is possible with Photon and the reality faced by Alexis–and millions of people–motivates us in our work every day.

✈️ A parent, a toddler, & the wrong medication: Diya’s Story

Diya’s heart rate increased when she learned that antibiotics for her toddler wouldn’t arrive before their next-day flight to Europe. (Her daughter had just developed a surprise ear infection.)

Although the doctor prescribed the powder, non-compounded version of amoxicillin, Diya later discovered that the pharmacy was actually delivering something else: the compounded version, which would require refrigeration and be harder to travel with. 

With just 1 day before the flight, she resigned to taking the compounded version already on its way and packing an ice bag. It would’ve taken up to 2 days to transfer the Rx elsewhere and get the powder version–2 days that Diya, Photon’s Chief of Staff, did not have.

So–how could Photon help? 

It’s challenging enough to handle pharmacy issues–it’s even more frustrating when the issues impact our loved ones. 

If the doctor had used Photon, Diya would not have received the compounded version of the amoxicillin. Instead, she would have first:

1. 💬 Received a text from Photon to change pharmacies, since the first one didn’t have stock of the powder, non-compounded amoxicillin (our services check on inventory right away).
2. ⏰ Relied on Photon to transfer the Rx quickly to a nearby pharmacy via text or the patient webpage. Then, Photon would text her with confirmation that in-stock, powder amoxicillin would be ready for pick-up.

With many parents on our team, we know the stress of caring for a child who’s ill. It makes us appreciate even more how Photon expedites medication fulfillment and offers updates on Rx status, like in the example below:

In another version of the story, Diya could’ve experienced what this parent had:

✅ Transfer the Rx to a new pharmacy in a few taps.

✅ Get a text that meds are in-stock and ready for pick-up at a specific time.

✅ Reach the pharmacy before it closed that day, ~30-minutes after our text.

💚 Take care of their kid's pain ASAP. Thanks Photon!

We’ve built a better experience–for us and anyone who's dealt with a prescription headache.

➡️ If you want to support Photon’s mission to empower millions of patients with transparency, agency, and convenience in their prescriptions, you can share this post, subscribe to this newsletter, or follow our LinkedIn.

📮 If you're part of a healthcare organization interested in Photon (read our customer stories with Found Health and Blueberry Pediatrics), please drop us a note at sales@photon.health. We are excited to enable seamless prescription experiences for your patients.