KwikMed

Key takeaways

KwikMed belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect KwikMed to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of KwikMed from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

KwikMed is an approved online pharmacy in the United States which has been granted regulatory approval to operate and sell medications online. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, KwikMed's parent company, Phoenix Capital Management, is located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Specifically, KwikMed has been granted regulatory approval to prescribe medications for erectile dysfunction, male pattern hair loss and smoking cessation provided specific operating procedures are followed. KwikMed has been involved in the creation of legislation in the state of Utah focused on creating a structural framework for the delivery of healthcare online and for the fulfillment of prescriptions on the Internet. On March 30, 2010, the State of Utah became the first state to establish a regulatory board specifically focused on regulating Internet pharmacies. This regulatory board is composed of experts in the healthcare field who are focused on facilitating the safe and effective delivery of health care online. Utah signed into law S.B. 274 Archived 2011-06-07 at the Wayback Machine, the "Online Prescribing, Dispensing, and Facilitation Act" which was sponsored by Utah State Senator Curt Bramble and Representative Rebecca D. Lockhart.

Company history

Introduction October 16, 2001 - KwikMed was purchased by Peter Ax, managing partner of Phoenix Capital Management (PCM). Peter Ax was formerly senior vice president and head of private equity at Lehman Brothers where he was responsible for the institutional private placement of late stage venture capital financing. The previous owners of KwikMed were criminally prosecuted for writing prescriptions on the Internet without a valid physician and for illegally repackaged medications obtained from a drug wholesaler. The cornerstone of KwikMed's health delivery system has been the creation of advanced software which takes a complete online medical history of the patient by asking specific questions of the patient. Depending upon how the patient responds, additional questions may be asked. All of the patient data collected during that online interview is compared to standardized medical scales to see if the patient is an alcoholic, is suffering from a mental illness, smokes too much, has an aggressive personality, etc... All of this information is collected by KwikMed physicians who then make a determination to 1) treat the patient with the patient requested medication, 2) suggest alternatives therapies for the patient, 3) collect additional data by email or phone call, 4)that the patient must be treated in a face-to-face setting and not allow any prescription to be written for this patient.

Time line Oct. 2001 - Utah Division of Occupational & Professional Licensing (DOPL) issues a subpoena to KwikMed regarding the past business practices of KwikMed's former owners. Oct. 2001 – PCM initiates discussion with the DOPL about revising KwikMed's practices in order to deliver healthcare safely on the internet. 2002 – KwikMed and medical experts make multiple presentations to the Utah DOPL, and Utah Boards of Medicine and Pharmacy. Dec. 2002 – KwikMed enters into a non-disciplinary Consent Order with the state of Utah which outlines specific operating procedures KwikMed must follow. June 2003 – First version of KwikMed Software launched which complies with Consent Order. Jan. 2004 – Utah legislature discusses legislation to regulate Internet pharmacies. KwikMed assists in educating regulators and legislators about online pharmacies which leads to regulation designed to allow online pharmacies to operate in Utah provided specific operating practices are followed. Jan 2004 – Second version of KwikMed software released providing significant enhancements to the system. June 2004 – KwikMed continues to refine its “best practices” and enhanced medical assessment and diagnostic tools. Dec. 2004 – University of Utah begins a formal research study of KwikMed's practices compared to traditional medicine. Jan. 2005 – Utah legislature again discusses legislation which would regulate Internet pharmacies. KwikMed assists legislators and regulators to understand the intricacies of internet pharmacies. May 2006 – Google allows KwikMed to become the only online prescribing website allowed to advertise on its site. Jan. 2007 – KwikMed presents its model for the delivery of online healthcare to various legislators and regulators. June 2007– KwikMed submits to Utah DOPL a formal request to be allowed to sell Chantix (smoking cessation medicine) online. June 2008 – Mayo Clinic Proceedings publishes University of Utah research which compares KwikMed's model for the delivery of healthcare to traditional healthcare which involves a patient meeting with a physician in a face-to-face setting. October 2008 – Peter Ax presents KwikMed's business model at Health 2.0 conference in at The Marriott in San Francisco, California. Feb. 2010 - Google announces that only online pharmacies verified by National Association Boards of Pharmacy and certified through the VIPPS program will be allowed to advertise. March 30, 2010 - Senator Curt Bramble signs Senate Bill 274 into law using the KwikMed business model as the standard for licensing and regulating online pharmacies. Utah signed into law the "Online Prescribing, Dispensing, and Facilitation Act" which was sponsored by Utah State Senator Curt Bramble.Senator Bramble remarked on Utah's "fairly remarkable track record with the one company that has been subject to [a] Consent Agreement." December 2010 - KwikMed start to sell the prescription drug called ella, an emergency contraception pill known as ulipristal acetate and marketed by Watson Pharmaceuticals.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with KwikMed

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what KwikMed claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to KwikMed before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about KwikMed ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of KwikMed

In research: KwikMed appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses KwikMed in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: KwikMed is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Pharmaceuticals policy, Pharmacy brands, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for KwikMed outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study KwikMed in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what KwikMed means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain KwikMed out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is KwikMed in simple terms?

KwikMed is an approved online pharmacy in the United States which has been granted regulatory approval to operate and sell medications online. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, KwikMed's parent company, Phoenix Capital Management, is located in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Why does KwikMed matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study KwikMed?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on KwikMed.