In furtherance of its dedication to ensuring the availability and affordability of quality healthcare products and services to its teeming customers and Nigerians, Wella Fulfillment Service, formerly a product of Wella Health, is set to be re-launched as a new and separate entity, called WeFill Africa.
Disclosing this in a press release made available to news men and signed by the Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, WeFill Africa, Mr Greg Emuze, the relaunching of WeFill as a company on its own is historical as it's a dream come true for the healthcare sector in Africa.
He said the relaunch is going to transform prescription fulfilment by empowering PBMs, driving down costs for insurers and inspiring better health with enrollees by providing a simple, technology-powered experience that integrates in real-time with benefit systems and plan providers.
According to him, to get the much-needed medications across, health service providers and HMOs would typically have to manage lots of spreadsheets and make hundreds of calls to pharmacies and enrollees each month.
He however noted that this system is inefficient and cannot be scaled up, adding that many enrollees end up dissatisfied, and cancellations of plans are common. “In most cases, PBMs would resort to enrollees picking up their medications at hospitals as a last resort. This is always more expensive and disrupts the enrollee's day, route, or routine”.
“Being one of the fastest-growing healthcare services in the country because of its commitment to innovation, technology, and service, WeFill's mission is to change the face and costs of pharmacy benefits in Africa. It delivers data-driven insights and implementable strategies that reduce costs while improving patient outcomes with a robust platform approach. Constantly evolving, it implements strategies that continuously create more opportunities for partners” he said.
Emuze further noted that with WeFill, PBMs can say goodbye to the dreaded days, put their spreadsheets away, and spend their time talking to enrollees in more meaningful ways, as it provides unrivalled access to medications in all 36 states and FCT of Nigeria at any time, leveraging on a network of over 1,600 community pharmacies and chains for deliveries or pickups.
Speaking on its benefits, he explained that beyond a simple vendor relationship, it provides many long-term opportunities to enhance business as a partner, adding that with WeFill, Pharmacy Benefit Managers get the peace of mind they deserve to focus on their enrollees through more comprehensive patient support programmes.
“Whether you have a few hundred enrollees or millions, WeFill automates CDRs and provides pharmacy selection in Telemedicine applications. Use could be either via a portal or an API integration directly with your systems. It has an open API architecture that allows it to integrate systems and vendors seamlessly. Its independence, transparency, and flexibility assure clients that it is committed to acting in their best interests and has the freedom to do so”, he said.
He further noted that by partnering, WeFill will help them to reach their customers everywhere in the country speedily and with ease, saying all they have to do is plug into a WeFill integration and experience the magic. “The platform also reduces the possibility of human error with data inputs and flows that are automated by a system smart enough to let you request a refill in a single click”, he said.
“To become a partner, health service providers and health maintenance organisations could simply sign up for an account and immediately gain access to the portal or integrate through API and it takes 24-48 hours to start enjoying 20-minute turnaround times.
While narrating the testimony of one of their partners, Emuze noted that they are very impressed with the work WeFill is doing for them, quoting Mr Oche, head of partnership, Hygeia HMO, as saying that WeFill was a major contributor in helping them close some major deals.
