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>View discussions about this entry Country: United States
Organization: Aidmatrix
Focus of activity - Technology
Year the initiative began (yyyy) - 2005
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
Define the innovation - What is the main focus (product, services, etc) of your innovation? Who are the primary beneficiaries? How does it make health and/or health care more affordable, accessible, and simpler to achieve/use? How does it differ from what currently exists in the market? Aidmatrix partnered with the National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC) to build capacity in the health care sector. The NAFC strives to support the 45 million uninsured in the U.S. (Robert Wood Johnson, 2005), mostly the working poor. Free Clinics serve a critical role, but struggle with a lack of funds to purchase medicines and supplies.
In our first effort, began in 2005, we pioneered a cutting-edge technology for Free Health Clinics to receive donations. FreeClinicLinkTM (FCL) is an internet portal automating transactions -- producing cost savings and cumulative value benefit - in real time, on a 24/7 basis. These solutions enable Free Clinics to serve more people in need more efficiently. Free Clinics now accept donations easily, drastically reducing the labor intensive process. The system allows corporate donors to easily support free clinics through the U.S. The estimated 1,100 Free Clinics nationally spend an estimated $170 million on medication per year, using a significant amount of their budget. On the other hand, in the U.S. alone, billions of dollars of medical supplies end up as surplus or are sent to landfills as waste. In 2006 we added a second dimension to FreeClinicLink - product purchasing power through aggregation of needs and better cost-negotiation leverage on behalf of its’ members. Fighting diabetes is one of the main focuses of the clinics so we tackled diabetic supplies first. We surveyed clinics nationally and found that they paid $36 on average, for a vial of 50 diabetic strips. By aggregating their purchasing power, we now offer 50 strips for $11.00. This allows the Free Clinics to save $14 million annually. The next step is to increase the breadth of available products. At the first NAFC national conference in 2006, we surveyed the clinics for the top 100 most used products. We negotiated pricing and added them to FCL in the spring of 2007. We now feature over 150 products and are negotiating to provide discounted dental supplies. Context for Disruption: - Describe how your innovation is transforming traditional health or related systems in the short and long term. By leveraging the power of the network we can multiply the cost and time savings.
• Clinics are saving money on purchases and donated products. Going forward the goal is to increase the savings. Individually, clinics will be able to save thousands of dollars. In the long term, new supply of income will allow for more medical professionals to be hired and therefore more people to be treated. • The FCL goal is to facilitate ‘one stop shopping’ for the clinics. The network saves them time if they can use one system for procurement of supplies rather than registering and learning multiple systems. The efficiencies are designed to build capacity for the clinics in the long term. • In addition, Aidmatrix and the NAFC are committed to adding new functionality that will assist clinics in reducing their: labor, total spending on medicines and supplies, and cost of ownership for technology. • Corporations can now easily support a national domestic organization. It’s easy and it makes good business sense. The system tracks their offers and corporations can aggregate their donations - to capture their humanitarian efforts, for tax purposes, etc. The NAFC vets the clinics so corporate donors know the donated products are going to those in need. • Also, the NAFC provides a lobbyist group bent on improving clinic needs. They recently helped pass a law that would allow Free Clinics to qualify for the Tort Claims Act. If for some reason a Free Clinic was in a mal-practice lawsuit, the department of justice would not just cover their legal fees, free of charge, but they would also serve as their lawyer. The Aidmatrix solution FreeClinicLink, can alleviate the struggle of many obstacles by offering reduced product acquisition, building the communication and information bridge, and providing a powerful partner who negotiates with industry related companies and government officials for all Free Clinics nationwide. Delivery Model - How does your innovation reach its target populations? What mechanism(s) (e.g., communications, distribution channels, etc.) do you have in place? What is your current market penetration? How do you measure this? The NAFC, founded in 2001, is in the early-development stage. Aidmatrix partnered to help NAFC grow and serve the uninsured. We've built strong collaborations before, with America’s Second Harvest (A2H). A2H was founded 30 years ago and has the staffing and infrastructure to efficiently manage the rollout of technology. A2H uses four major systems, developed by Aidmatrix, to manage their daily operations:
•Donor Express - processes hundreds of national donation offers daily •Agency Express – allows agencies to order food directly from the food banks •The Choice System – allows food banks to share donations among themselves with a points system developed in conjunction with the University of Chicago, and the •Virtual Food Drive™ – an online fundraising program A2H systems evolved and now these same technologies are activated worldwide to help other developing food bank associations. We are a nonprofit that believes in helping all nonprofits take steps forward. Now these developing food banks can avoid hurdles by using procedures and technology developed by Aidmatrix. We are applying these concepts to the NAFC. However, the NAFC has fewer resources, only one full time staff member and a less mature infrastructure. We are using current communication systems but the organization lacks personnel for training and support. The U.S. has 1,100 clinics and only 300 NAFC members and FCL users -- a tremendous opportunity to grow the membership and help more clinics. Right now, we track users, cost savings and order volume. To increase adoption we piloted FreeClinicLink: Pathway to Health Care Access for the Uninsured. Texas had state and regional clinic associations, so we leveraged the opportunity to effect processes and communication. We have five temporary staff deployed throughout Texas until Fall, 2007 working to reach out to clinics. The goals are: increased NAFC membership; streamlined communication and front-line service; and ultimately help more people in need Key Operational Partnerships - What key partnerships have you established to make your disruptive innovation model possible? Who are your partners (business, social, government, other) and what are their roles? How central are these partnerships for your initiative. Aidmatrix believes in partnerships-with dorporations, governments, nonprofits-to get the Right Aid to the Right People at the Right Time. We initiated the NAFC program with funding from the Accenture Foundation. Accenture values & supports organizations creating sustainable change. They endorsed our model because we address vital issues and create systemic change.
Aidmatrix partners with technology organizations to bring value to the nonprofit space. Some of our partners include i2 Technologies, Sun Microsystems, Dell Computer, HP/Compaq, Macromedia, Oracle, Salesforce.com and Red Prairie. These organizations have donated products, services, employee time or a combination of these, to orchestrate a revolution in humanitarian aid. In turn, the donations are leveraged by Aidmatrix staff: a highly experienced group of professionals, formerly working in the for-profit world of technology and supply chain management fields. The result? Aidmatrix is able to provide complete, turn-key solutions to nonprofits at an absolute minimal cost. To accomplish our goals, Aidmatrix also partners with some of the world’s leading humanitarian aid organizations including: International Red Cross Societies, The UN World Food Programme, Habitat for Humanity, Adventist Community Services and A2H. In addition we just orchestrated the national donations management system for FEMA; for use not only in times of disaster, but also as a daily resource. And the US Chamber also counts us as a partner. Financial Model - Describe the financial model for your innovation. What percentage, if any, of the total operating costs does earned income (from products, services, or other fees) represent? Generally Aidmatrix works with our partners to find grants for the original build of a project and we develop sustainability into the ongoing operations. The original build of the NAFC program was funded by the Accenture Foundation. Other supporters include The North Central Texas Council of Governments and the Meadows Foundation.
The program is built with sustainability as a basis. For example, the medical supply companies issue a 2% rebate for each transaction of discounted products. A small administrative fee is also charged for each donated product. This revenue is shared equally with the NAFC. We are estimating that the program will be self sustaining in the next five years.
Effectiveness - What has been the measurable impact of your project to date? How many people have benefited from your program in total? What policies, communities, or institutions have been influenced to make fundamental changes because of your work? Our initial Texas-model phase has yielded positive results. First, we've registerd 300 clinics as FCL users. Fusing this number of grassroots clinics is a major accomplishment. Nationwide the clinics have received $20 million worth of donated products and saved almost $1 million on discounted products. For every dollar saved, clinic personnel can help more patients. Ever-precisous time is spent on care; not searching for product donations or completing long, inefficient item request forms. More time, more service, more people.
FreeClinicLink captures an affiliate’s licenses and donor required details, reducing time & effort on the part of both donor and clinic. Even more time is saved by a one-system login—for donated and discounted products. Clinics simply learn one system; use one set of logins; take advantage of efficient technology in place of papers, forms, phones and faxes. Aidmatrix focuses on making it good business for corporations to support nonprofits. Donors can partner with the NAFC and donate products with a click of a button. Donors have access to donation information on-line, available 24/7. Corporations can quantify their humanitarian efforts and report the benefit of nonprofit support to their stakeholders. And tax information can be aggregated at the national level so corporations can receive proper tax treatment. Finally, our system is environmentally friendly. By using this “donations not destruction” program, organizations ensure that products do not get thrown away for bulk in landfills or incineraterated as waste. Adoption seems to be the biggest challenge. Texas houses an estimated 120 free clinics. Our five-staff team continues to contact each one and offer education on joining the network, using the website. Currently 29 state clinics are using the system. Six weeks into the Texas model, 25 percent of clinics are signed up. As part of our nationwide effort, the program has resulted in a staggering product savings of $12 million.
Scaling up Strategy - What is your priority for the next 3 years and please describe why. Aidmatrix and the NAFC strive to drive adoption of the FCL on a national level. Adoption can be focused in two areas – clinics and the donor community. In turn, we need to continue the technology development to support these audiences.
As volume increases, everyone will benefit. Domestically the focus is to increase: These nonprofit, community-based clinics are organizations constantly searching for resources to help those in need. With our proposed solution package, Aidmatrix can assist them in adopting technology allowing cohesive, bulk purchasing of discounted products and on-line access to donated goods. As more pharmaceutical companies donate, more clinics will learn of the value-added benefit of membership in the NAFC, and in turn, the program’s long-term sustainability broadens and builds with fees generated from the system. In addition, expanding the volume of the system will fund full time resources to work with corporate donors to negotiate pricing on additional items, thus spreading and spanning the functionality of FreeClinicLink™.
Origin of the Initiative - Tell the personal story that will help people connect to your work. How did the initiative start? Was there a particular individual or event driving the idea? Tell the reader the story behind the innovation. Our visionary founder understood that much needed food and medical supplies were going to the landfill and not to vital survival assistance for the thousands who needed food or medicine. She founded Aidmatrix to pioneer the use of innovative technology to change the way aid is delivered. The solution was to combine business best practices and revenue-generating technologies, with the broad capabilities of the Internet; ultimately streamlining the delivery of aid without compromising the dignity of the person in need. Our founding goal was for Aidmatrix to touch 50 million lives by 2005. We made it…by 2004…a year ahead of schedule. In a way that had never been done before, Aidmatrix provided nonprofits with the means to break the technology barrier. We are striving to revolutionize humanitarian aid for those who go without basic medical attention. It’s disruptive innovation at its best.
What are your two main challenges to finance the growth of your initiative - What are the two (2) main challenges in financing the growth of your initiative with respect to operating costs and capital expenses? What amount of financing would your organization need in order to scale up operations? The two biggest challenges we face are funding the adoption aspect of the initiative and getting sponsorships from corporations. As soon as Aidmatrix can secure funding for the delivery of this program to clinics nationwide, temporary employees will be trained and hired and sent into their region to help clinics adopt the use of this portal into their practices and will reap high rewards because clinics can immediately see the revolutionary impact.
The other financial challenge involves securing corporate sponsors. Aidmatrix is in the process of presenting sponsorship packages to pharmaceutical and medical supply companies to ensure system self-sustainability. Eventually, sponsoring organizations will have their link and information on the program’s on-line site – they will be a partner in improving health care for all Americans. The adoption aspect could easily come close to $1 million, if all Initiatives were to be funded and embraced. These unrestricted funds would be Program designated, for expenses like personnel, application development, technical advances, training, equipment and hardware. This figure would be determined by the level and scope of adoption. How did you hear about this contest and what is your main incentive to participate? - (This answer will not be published on the website.) Searching for grants & project funding, we reviewed the R.W.J. Foundation site and clicked on the Open Proposals section. Healthcare. Disruptive Innovation. Solutions People Want. Technology. It all spelled Aidmatrix. Our motivation is to increase program awareness-Right Aid*Right People*Right Time.
Do you have an annual financial statement? - Yes, Aidmatrix does have an annual report. This independently audited documentation provides secured funding and expense output for the most recent year, 2005. We are in the audit stage for the 2006 report.
Do you currently have an annual financial statement that tracks profit/loss? - Our annual report is independently audited; documentation provides secured funding and expense output. Our annual operating budget also reflects less than 8 percent in administrative expenses, placing Aidmatrix in a top percentile of its nonprofit peers in budget management, with majority funding for programming.
Contact Information:
Brad Watts
Texas Program Manager Aidmatrix (Non-profit) Discussions about this entry |
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RhodeIslandFreeClinic.11.2005.pdf |
Dear Sir,
I would like to seve for any noble cause in India under your guidance.
Best Regards,
Parimal Gandhi
With $60 billion of medical supplies and medications destoyed annually in the United States this is a project whose time has come. FreeClinicLink powered by Aidmatrix is providing medications to thousands of patients cared for by the volunteer doctors, dentists and other providers at free clinics. In central Appalachia, this project has saved the lives of thousands of patients who would otherwise go without life-sustaining medications. WV Health Right has been able to care for more patients because of the products available. A true blessing for thousands of the unisured poor!
We are ecstatic down here in rural South Carolina as the free stuff arrives. What a blessing!! Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Kathy C. Baxley
Executive Director
Free Medical Clinic of Darlington County
203 Grove Street
Darlington, SC 29532
843-398-0060 phone