Today we’d like to introduce you to Yasser Almuaala.
Yasser, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The team and I all have our own stories about how we started and how we met. To tell you a bit about mine, I began my journey in healthcare as a part-time job while I pursued an engineering degree. Between then and now, I’ve had the privilege of working with patients directly in some of the most prestigious organizations in healthcare, including the single largest healthcare organization in the world, one of the top 20 healthcare organizations in the country, and a couple of other smaller organizations. I would hear the same complaints over and over about redundancies, operational failures, and many issues that stemmed from the same underlying cause: a lack of transparency and process, fundamentally and operationally.
I was shocked at how one of the largest industries in the world could be so flawed, especially since the solutions seemed to be so simple. Through my time in the industry, I had the pleasure of establishing a network of like-minded individuals who all had similar experience, albeit in different functions, and all of us had a common belief that we could improve the system. Being familiar with the common frustrations, we made it our mission to resolve these issues and inspire a revolution in healthcare, one where the patient is truly the center of it all, where it’s more personal and caring as opposed to transactional. This is how Prestige Health Solutions was born. Not long afterwards, my father, who is a diabetic, was diagnosed with a severe infection resulting from a foot ulcer. The doctor’s explained how time was of the essence and he had to get on an aggressive antibiotic treatment immediately to avoid amputation. So you can imagine our anxiety when we went to the pharmacy and were told they didn’t take my father’s insurance and the second pharmacy we went to couldn’t get his medication for 3-4 days. And several of our team members have similar stories revolving around issues with pharmacies – these were all part of the inspiration behind Swyft Scripts.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Far from it. We’ve certainly experienced our fair share of roadblocks and obstacles, but nothing our team couldn’t handle. It has not been what we would call ‘smooth,’ nor do we expect it to get any easier, but our mission is a fulfilling one and we are dedicated to it. A start-up is incredibly difficult to manage and grow, so when you add in the events of 2020 so far, the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic and social impacts associated with it, you can imagine the difficulties that we have faced throughout our first year.
Please tell us about SwyftScripts.
Prestige Health Solutions is a healthcare technology and consulting firm. Our mission at its core is to change the healthcare dynamic to a more patient-focused one; in our experience, it’s getting to be too commercial and the heart of the problem lies in the way the healthcare system is set up. One example: independent providers are forced to have to join a larger organization or go out of business. Many of the independent providers that are trying to stay independent must focus on growth and scalability, having to wear the hat of an entrepreneur as well. Being one or the other is difficult enough, so imagine having to be both. That’s not what most healthcare providers went to school for. They spend many years learning how to care for patients and then get overwhelmed with trying to balance their level of care with the hard work of running a business. We decided we wanted to help shift the dynamic by empowering independent providers and we wanted to do that here in our city.
Swyft Scripts is our first customer-facing service line and our agenda is to empower local independent pharmacies while revolutionizing the patient experience. The goal at the highest level is to give Houston the ability to support local Houston businesses while solving the age-old problem of the pharmacy experience. In this day and age, people shouldn’t be forced to go through the hassle of waiting in lines, making multiple trips to pharmacies, and especially during a pandemic where a significant portion of the patients requiring medication are already high-risk and needing to minimize exposure. We make all of that easy by handling the process of getting your prescription filled and delivered to your home or office the same day, usually.
What makes us different is our values and our mission: we aim to serve the community, both patients and providers, and we do that every day. Having worked for some of the largest healthcare organizations in the city and in the world, I know firsthand the tribulations dealt with by patients and by providers, and all of us here are committed to fixing that. We have many great ideas on how to continue to build on this shift and it’s all about improving the patient experience. Houston is home to the largest medical center in the world and people come from all over for care here. We want to maintain and continuously improve that standing, so innovation is necessary.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I believe it was the Roman philosopher Seneca who said, “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” I would have to agree. I believe that luck can be influenced, whether for better or for worse, by any individual. Outlook and preparation are critical to knowing when and how to do that. This pandemic has been terrible – it is very bad luck for all of humanity. But just like with every other event that can be attributed to bad luck, it brings with it opportunity – to learn, to grow, to adapt, to act. What one does with that opportunity and every action one takes will influence what we call “luck.”
Pricing:
- Our prescription delivery service is free and is typically same-day delivery.
- We also offer an expedited 1 hour delivery for $5
Contact Info:
- Website: www.swyftscripts.com
- Phone: 888-799-3879
- Email: admin@swyftscripts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swyftscripts/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SwyftScripts/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SwyftScripts
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