Targeting Abuse Might Also Help Medicaid Program
The state of Kentucky may seek federal funding for a high-tech system for tracking frequently abused prescription drugs, saving their Medicaid program millions of dollars.

The following information was provided by, and is reprinted with the permission of, Equity Technology & Resources:

Equity Technologies & Resources, Inc. a public company on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol ETCR. ETCR is a visionary development stage company with plans to revolutionize the more than $130 billion annual prescription drug industry by eliminating prescription fraud, forgery, and negligence while simultaneously assisting primary care providers and pharmacies to control costs, manage time more efficiently, and meet patients’ growing demand for competent care.

Consider this:

• $25 billion illegal prescription drugs are sold each year, compared to $31 billion spent on cocaine.

• 2.6 million people use prescription drugs for “non-medical reasons” - more than those using heroin, crack, and cocaine.

• 6% of all Medicaid patients use their medications in ways other than prescribed.

• 15 of the top 20 drugs mentioned in emergency room episodes are prescription painkillers, sedatives, stimulants, and tranquilizers.

• Only $70 million goes to the DEA to investigate prescription drug offenses, versus $13 billion on the “war on drugs”.

• Only 17 states attempt to track controlled prescription drugs in an attempt to prevent diversion.

• 1.3 million people are harmed every year from such medication errors as receiving the wrong dose or the wrong drug, estimates the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

• 7,000 Americans die each year from negligence in prescription filling process error or indecipherable prescriptions, reports the Institute of Medicine.

• 150 million phone calls to clarify illegible handwriting are placed each year by pharmacies to physicians, increasing opportunity for mistakes. Equity Technologies & Resources, Inc. through its 100% owned subsidiary, Verified Prescription Safeguards, Inc. has developed a patent-pending system that uses a combination of advanced technology and proprietary software that will virtually eliminate prescription fraud and abuse; allow medical practitioners to control costs, manage time more efficiently, and meet patients’ demands for excellence in health care; and provide government regulatory agencies with the effective tools they need to combat the alarming rise in the diversion of controlled prescription drugs and Medicaid fraud.

The patent-pending VPSTM System creates a secure information-encrypted link between the doctors’ offices and pharmacies. Barcodes, digital photos, and biometric identification provide doctors and pharmacies with a fail-safe method to insure no fraudulent, unauthorized, or inaccurate prescriptions are filled. In addition, practitioners and pharmacies will be able to eliminate the unnecessary and time-consuming prescription related phone calls, resulting in a more productive and cost efficient operation for both parties. The proprietary software designed for creating the database offers additional applications and features, such as notification to doctors when their patients’ prescriptions are filled or refilled by any other doctor, patient identity verification, and providing real-time data to regulatory agencies.

The VPS System allows for a constant flow of information between all of the parties involved in the prescription transaction. To realize cost savings for the public, the VPS System will reduce labor-intensive tasks inherent in the current system and provide improved efficiency throughout the drug delivery process. It will also improve efficiency in communications between the practitioner and pharmacist by providing an automated system to accurately and instantly communicate prescription information. The system will further reduce effort required of practitioners to identify fraud by providing real-time access to patients’ pharmaceutical activities and automated alerts of suspicious behavior. The system will also reduce investigative efforts of regulatory agencies by providing real-time reporting with data analysis tools and by reducing the number of cases through preventative measures.

The VPS System has a goal to reduce claims workload and payouts for malpractice and liability insurance carriers by implementing preventative measures to reduce the errors in the prescription delivery process. It is also designed to improve response time and internal procedures of third-party payers by providing real-time access to eligibility, claims, and billing information.

Recently, the company announced it had signed a Letter of Intent with Atlanta-based Medeway, Inc., to acquire direct access to 4,500 prescribing physician practices. The deal will give Equity Technologies the opportunity to implement its patent pending VPS System. Company President, Frank Dickey, said, “These practices — the majority of which are in the Southeastern United States — are currently under contract with Medeway and use its services and software in their practice management systems. Through the joint efforts of the parties, the company will gain the immediate opportunity to demonstrate the quality and efficiencies of the VPS system by implementation in 4,500 practices.” He added, “Direct access to all future prescribing practices that become customers of Medeway will also be made available to Equity Technologies & Resources, Inc.” Dickey further said, “The company will pay a royalty to Medeway from income generated by from these practices by the use of the VPS system.”

On August 30, 2001 Equity Technologies announced it had entered into a Letter of Intent with “an international provider of Internet bandwidth” to purchase inventory worth a total of $47,000,000 at a discount to market value. “The purchase of bandwidth, coupled with the recently acquired website development software, will allow prescribing member physicians to have their own individualized, cost effective websites.” said Frank Dickey, President of Equity Technologies & Resources, Inc. “According to our calculations, up to 50,000 practices can be supplied with bandwidth for at least three years or more, using this inventory on an as-needed basis,” he added. “By purchasing in bulk, at a discount, the company will be in a position to pass along the savings and still realize a reasonable profit from each website in our system,” he concluded. The purchase is to be funded with the company’s preferred stock..

Late last year, Equity Technologies announced news that brings the company another step closer to implementing its VPS System. The company revealed that it had signed an Agreement with a AA-rated insurance company to provide group medical malpractice insurance to member physicians using the patent-pending VPSTM System to provide a national solution for prescription drug diversion and Medicaid fraud. Under the terms of the Agreement, member physicians would be entitled to substantial discounts — from 15% to 20% — in their medical malpractice insurance premiums while maintaining or even expanding the level of coverage provided in existing insurance policies. “This group insurance plan will demonstrate to physicians and the entire healthcare industry, as well as the legal and business communities, the value of our system in the eyes of the insurance industry,” according to Equity’s President, Frank Dickey. The insurance provider expects to have the group plan ready for physicians by the time the system is fully operational, which is expected sometime after the beginning of the coming year.

With all the advances in healthcare and supporting technology, our modern healthcare system still relies on a tool as ancient as the practice of medicine itself — the prescription pad. Equity Technologies may change all that in a very dramatic way if its VPS System gains acceptance.

For further information visit the company Web site at http://www.equitytechnologies-resources.com/pages/275128/index.htm.