Medago, a Montreal startup that built an app allowing doctors to easily communicate with pharmacists, has been acquired by PetalMD.

PetalMD, also a Montreal-based company, builds scheduling software and secure messaging for hospitals and medical clinics.

Medago’s iOS app allows doctors and dentists to send their prescriptions directly from their smartphone to a patient-chosen pharmacy. PetalMD said in a release that it’s closer to its mission to become a patient-focused platform that improves access to care after acquiring Medago.

“Our vision is for every Canadian to have the ability to book their doctor’s appointments online, visit the right doctor via our scheduling solution, and receive a notification when their prescription is ready, all for free,” said PetalMD’s CEO, Patrice Gilbert.

Welcome onboard Medago! https://t.co/LUu3CgeuR3

— Patrice Gilbert (@PetalMD_CEO) January 27, 2016

Somewhere along the line between when a patient receives a prescription and brings it to a pharmacist to get it filled, complications seem to arise.

As PetalMD noted, a recent Canadian Institutes of Health Research study showed that one in three prescriptions go unfilled in Canada.

“We were surprised at the magnitude of the gap between leaving the physician’s office and receiving a prescription at your local pharmacy. With over 25,000 medical professionals on the platform, PetalMD is uniquely positioned to fill this gap by providing our customers a simple way to communicate with pharmacists and improve the experience for patients,” said Gilbert.

Medago CEO Alex Aoun will join PetalMD to integrate his team’s solution to the platform and work towards a full launch in mid-2016.

“It was a natural fit; we share the same vision and our solutions complement each other,” he said. “This transaction will allow us to rapidly offer an integrated medical platform, which will undoubtedly benefit patients and healthcare professionals.”

Aoun’s idea to start his company came much like many founders - out of frustration. According to PetalMD, he was running a clinic in downtown Montreal.

“I was in charge of operations and business development, and our team was spending too much time on the phone with pharmacists because either they didn’t understand the physician’s writing or patients were losing their paper prescription,” said Aoun. “So, we decided to build a company to fix these predicaments and streamline the pharmacist and medical provider workflow.”

With over 25,000 medical professionals, PetalMD is Canada’s leading medical platform for hospitals, physician departments and clinics. With a mission to improve access to care, PetalMD offers web-based physician scheduling, a patient booking system, and secure messaging. PetalMD is proud to be a full-service company offering turn-key solutions, including a free option and custom modules.