Opt-e-scrip receives Current Procedural Terminology (“CPT”) Code from the American Medical Association for its Personalized Medicine Test
Bedminster, NJ. July 1, 2004 / PRNewswire

Opt-e-scrip announced today that its submission to the American Medical Association (“AMA”) to establish a unique CPT© Code for a “validated, statistically reliable, randomized, controlled, single-patient clinical investigation [Personalized Medicine Test] of FDA approved chronic care drugs, provided by a pharmacist, interpretation and report to the prescribing health care professional” was approved and electronically published at the mid-year publication cycle of the AMA. The Code number is 0130T. The general purpose of the CPT Coding system is to permit reimbursement for physicians performing various well-defined procedures at compensation rates that are appropriate for the time and complexity of the procedure. The Code established for Personalized Medicine Tests (“PMT’s”) is intended for any pharmacist or pharmacy to receive reimbursement from Health Plans and Health Insurers for using the test kits to optimize a patient’s drug outcomes and represents one of the first Codes ever granted to a non-physician healthcare provider.

The new CPT Code granted is a Category III CPT Code, which is a temporary set of codes for emerging technologies, services, and procedures. These Category III Codes are also intended to be used for data collection purposes to substantiate widespread usage. If providers do not widely adopt the technology, or it cannot be shown that the Code is still needed, it will be archived in five years by the AMA.

Opt-e-scrip is a full-service, Pharmacy Benefit Manager with national mail-order and retail network capabilities, which markets a unique Formulary to self-insured employer groups using its Personalized Medicine Tests to optimize outcomes for employees and reduce costs for employers.

PMT’s are a practical tool to independently and objectively measure an individual patient's response or lack of response to two chronic care drugs at a time. Since no two patients respond to a drug the same way, doctors should not have to rely solely on pharmaceutical company data gathered from group clinical trials to make prescribing decisions. Clinical outcomes can be improved and drug costs significantly reduced using Opt-e-scrip™ Personalized Medicine Tests because they can objectively compare two drugs in a single prescription and will determine with surprising frequency when an off-patent, more established drug with a well-known side effect profile is as good or better for an individual patient than a newer, more expensive one. Based on these tests physicians can then prescribe on a long-term basis the more cost-effective of the two drugs.

Opt-e-scrip currently offers validated PMT’s for three therapeutic categories: osteoarthritis, chronic heartburn (GERD), and allergic rhinitis. The company holds two patents until 2014 with over 100 issued claims for the use of its single-patient test methods in over 20 chronic-care therapeutic categories. The next tests to be developed will be kits for depression, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, high blood pressure, and attention deficit disorder (AD/HD).

For further information, please contact Tom Moore, COO, at 617-331-4872.