WesternU Alum’s App Puts a Pharmacist in Your Pocket
Pomona, Calif. (PRWEB) March 17, 2015 -- Western University of Health Sciences’ College of Pharmacy alumnus Anthony Do, PharmD ’12, has created a smartphone application, Medicyne, which helps users determine what kind of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs to buy based on their symptoms.
Do, a resident of Upland, California, said he launched the app on iTunes in February 2015 to be an extension of the neighborhood pharmacist, helping individuals understand their own health care better and make more informed decisions.
“Many people do not know how to navigate over-the-counter medications, or it’s a very difficult process, so I see this app as a solution to capturing all the information you input,” Do said. “It analyzes the information and then recommends products, which can improve safety for the patient and can eliminate potential drug interactions.”
He also hopes the app will allow pharmacists to provide better patient care.
The idea for Medicyne came to Do in 2011, when he was working on a business development plan while attending WesternU, taking the College of Pharmacy’s Advanced Elective on Entrepreneurial Independent Pharmacy Ownership with Jesse Martinez, PharmD, Vice Dean, Academic Diversity and Development.
“Dr. Martinez was trying to get us to think outside of the box, finding how we can change the pharmacy business,” Do said. “For the past 100 or so years, it’s been the same business model, so he inspired me to think of how I could use my interest in technology to change the pharmacy user experience.”
Do had help. Co-founder Tracy Pan, from Los Angeles, handles Medicyne’s public relations and business marketing, and some development. The two also hired a friend from Vietnam, Thanh Vo, to develop the application.
Do plans to keep adding features to Medicyne, including one that would alert a doctor or pharmacist when a consumer needs to see one of those professionals.
He also sees medical management therapy (MTM) as the future of pharmacy, and says his app will be a tool to help manage pharmacists’ time.
For more information about Medicyne, click http://www.medicyne.com/. To download the app, click, bit.ly/medicyneapp.
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Western University of Health Sciences (http://www.westernu.edu), located in Pomona, Calif. and Lebanon, Ore., is an independent nonprofit health professions university, conferring degrees in biomedical sciences, dental medicine, health sciences, medical sciences, nursing, optometry, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, podiatric medicine and veterinary medicine. WesternU is home to the Patient Care Center, where the best in collaborative health care services is offered. The Chronicle of Higher Education named WesternU a Great College to Work For in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Jeff Malet, Western University of Health Sciences, http://westernu.edu, (909) 706-3790, [email protected]
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