A specialty pharmacy in Palos Heights, Illinois, ASAP Pharmacy serves hemophilia patients regionally and nationally.

ASAP Pharmacy

ASAP Pharmacy operates with a personal touch that stems from a genuine passion for each patient. Founded in 2001 to address a chronic illness previously under-served, ASAP Pharmacy strives to provide a level of care and service that enhances the quality of life for its patients.

“We’re in business today because of Smith Medical Partners, because they are willing to reach out and work with us.” - Debbie Holwerda, Patient Advocate

Its mission: “At ASAP Pharmacy, we value our call to be servants. We recognize the value of every person and promise to give them excellent and personalized care: to educate, empower, and equip each individual to experience a fuller quality of life beyond the prescription.” is the driving force behind the pharmacy’s operations. “We customize our services to each person and the circumstances they are facing,” said Gilbert Russell, Director of Patient Care, “It is our goal to exceed expectations with our quality of care.”

The Challenge

Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder affecting approximately 20,000 patients in the United States. Individuals with the condition can suffer from a wide range of medical complications, including diminished blood clotting and continuous bleeding in joints and muscles. To combat these life-threatening symptoms, hemophilia patients receive treatments to accelerate the clotting process and facilitate blood replenishment.

Because hemophilia touches a relatively small segment of the population, treatments are costly for both patients and providers. Increasing product cost posed significant operational concern to ASAP, especially in conjunction with adverse reimbursement rates and terms. Maintaining the substantial inventory required for servicing hemophilia patients and anticipating emergency product needs added to the complex inventory versus overhead balance.

Strategy and Results

ASAP Pharmacy turned to Smith Medical Partners because of its reputation in the industry for excellent service. “If you’re going to effectively provide patient care, you have to work with resources that understand your business and are able provide accordingly,” said Debbie Holwerda, Patient Advocate, “We are a smaller business, but Smith Medical Partners treats us as though we are much higher volume account.”

Recognizing the financial impact of the outside factors ASAP Pharmacy was facing, Smith Medical Partners collaborated with ASAP to create custom ordering and billing solutions. In addition, to reduce the expense of on-hand inventory, Smith Medical Partners provided ASAP an emergency shipment program to allow efficient access to products without the absorption of inventory cost until the need is presented.

“We’re in business today because of Smith Medical Partners, because they are willing to reach out and work with us.” said Holwerda. “They understand our business and help us plan to make sure we can provide that quality of service that we state in our mission.”

Planning for the Future

ASAP Pharmacy has growth plans to broaden its focus to other disease states. “Smith Medical Partners has been proactive in helping us plan and strategize,” said Russell, “Our partnership with them means we can concentrate on our patients.” ASAP Pharmacy will continue to rely on Smith Medical Partners as it strategizes the expansion of its services.