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About DrFirst

The healthcare universe is complex,
interconnected, and ever-changing.
At DrFirst, we call it the Healthiverse™—and
we are driven to connect every corner of it.

About Us

Since 2000, DrFirst has pioneered healthcare technology solutions and consulting services that securely connect people at every touchpoint of care to improve patient outcomes.

Headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, DrFirst creates unconventional solutions that shatter information silos and solve care collaboration, medication management, price transparency, and adherence challenges in healthcare.

Our technology can be used as stand-alone solutions or integrated within the workflow of electronic health records and health information systems. DrFirst products are used by over 300,000 healthcare providers, including more than 350,000 prescribers, in hospitals, clinics, and private practices throughout the U.S. and Canada.

DrFirst Logo on a flag outside of headquarters

What Makes Us Different

Our growth is driven by our commitment to innovation and our passion for improving healthcare by connecting providers with the information they need, exactly when they need it. Our leadership in the industry has been recognized with numerous awards for our innovation, quality, and service. 

Uniting the Healthiverse™

The Healthiverse™ is our vision of a healthcare universe where everyone is connected in real-time to each other and to the information they need, so patients get the best care. The vast Healthiverse includes patients and family caregivers, medical professionals, hospitals, pharmacies, EHRs, payers, HIEs, pharmaceutical companies, and more.

At DrFirst, we consider ourselves Guardians of the Healthiverse – dedicated to creating revolutionary products and services that close the gaps between information and people so that all sectors in healthcare can create better outcomes together. 

DrFirst Logo constellations

We Connect Healthcare Stakeholders

350,000

PRESCRIBERS

2,025

Hospitals & Health Systems

20,000

AMBULATORY FACILITIES

270

EHR/HIS Vendors

71,000

Pharmacies & Pharmacy Systems

235 MILLION

eRx ANNUALLY

Management Team

James F. Chen Executive Chairman of the Board and Founder

James F. Chen
Executive Chairman of the Board and Founder

James Chen founded DrFirst and serves as the Executive Chairman of the Board. He is a seasoned entrepreneur with a strong technology background and experience in starting and leading technology-related businesses. Jim successfully founded and served as the CEO of V-ONE Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed provider of virtual private networking (VPN) software that is used extensively in many industries, including government, financial services, healthcare, and automotive. Jim has been granted five U.S. patents on Internet security products. Prior to founding V-ONE, he worked for many years in increasingly senior positions at Intelsat and in the nuclear power industry. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and received his master’s in Computer Science from George Washington University.

Cameron Deemer Chief Executive Officer, DrFirst

G. Cameron Deemer
Chief Executive Officer

Cameron Deemer brings more than 20 years of healthcare industry experience to his position as CEO of DrFirst. He joined the company in 2004 as Director of Product Management before being appointed General Manager in 2005 and President shortly after that succeeding James Chen as CEO in 2023. Since joining DrFirst, Cam has played an instrumental role in formalizing and driving improved business processes, while developing new technology strategies to leverage the benefits of electronic prescribing and other DrFirst platform services for providers, hospitals, payers, and other healthcare stakeholders. He has also been a strong proponent of promoting interoperability in the healthcare industry by sharing clinical data between systems. Prior to joining DrFirst, Cam was Assistant Vice President of Product Management for PCS Health Systems/AdvancePCS and also led the e-prescribing and practice management product strategy for NDCHealth.

Paul Banta
Chief Operating Officer

With a long and successful career in both legal and business roles at a variety of healthcare organizations, including Eli Lilly, PCS Health Systems, and Epocrates, Paul brings a multidimensional approach to his role leading DrFirst’s legal, HR, and operations functions. Since joining DrFirst in 2021, Paul’s ability to creatively mitigate risk and optimize reward has helped drive the organization forward during a period of substantial growth by maintaining a thoughtful balance between business innovation, compliance, regulation, brand, and reputation. Paul earned his law degree from Columbia Law School, holds an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, and an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Bowdoin College.

David Samuels DrFirst

David Samuels
Chief Financial Officer

David is a seasoned financial executive with more than 25 years of financial and business experience with publicly traded, venture-backed, and privately held businesses, with revenues ranging from pre-revenue to over $1B. He has successfully completed more than $550M of debt and equity financings, including initial capitalizations and public offerings, and has managed mergers and acquisitions, business restructuring, complex financings, and operational improvements. He has extensive experience with technology-focused businesses, working with company founders and board members to create and protect shareholder value. David has held CFO roles in a variety of technology-driven businesses over the past 20 years. He holds an MBA in Finance and Investments from George Washington University, and a bachelor’s in Accounting, magna cum laude, from the University of Connecticut School of Business. He is a recipient of the NVTC Greater Washington Technology CFO Award for Community Service, a finalist for CFO of the Year in the Emerging Growth Company category, and was named CFO of the Year by the Washington Business Journal.

Irene Froehlich Chief Communications Officer o DrFirst

Irene Froehlich
Chief Communications Officer

Irene has been a pioneer in healthcare technology since 2000, helping shape the national reputation of DrFirst and playing a significant role in developing the company’s strategy and brand since its inception. Irene has worn many hats at DrFirst over the years, spanning marketing, public relations, sales, account management, corporate culture, and talent acquisition. She has a proven track record of creating, implementing, executing, and managing a variety of initiatives supporting both B2B and B2C markets. Irene is responsible for ensuring that the leadership team upholds the vision, mission, values, purpose, culture, and beliefs of DrFirst both internally and externally. She also maintains the quality of the DrFirst brand and voice through successful public relations and marketing initiatives. Irene earned a bachelor’s degree in Business/Corporate Communications from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Colin Bana, MD DrFirst

Colin Banas, M.D., M.H.A 
Chief Medical Officer

Colin is an Internal Medicine Hospitalist and former Chief Medical Information Officer for VCU Health System in Richmond, Virginia. He has testified before the U.S. Senate and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) on health IT and the Meaningful Use program, and is a former Health IT Fellow for the ONC. His interests center on the role of big data and analytics on patient outcomes and on novel forms of clinical decision support that are outside the realm of traditional rules and alerts, including real-time dashboarding and intuitive usability designs. He also helped spearhead the VCU effort to participate in the Open Notes initiative, where patients have access to their clinical documentation in real time. In 2017, Colin received the HIMSS-AMDIS award for Physician Executive of the Year from his peers. He earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Virginia, his M.D. from Eastern Virginia Medical School, and a master’s in Healthcare Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Andrew Burns DrFirst

Andrew Burns
Chief Revenue Officer

Andrew is a seasoned growth strategist, investment alliance-maker, and mergers & acquisitions facilitator who today gives voice and direction to DrFirst’s next generation solutions. As Chief Growth Officer, Andrew is charged with the strategic and commercial growth of DrFirst’s digital strategy and customer solutions. Over the past 20 years, Andrew’s leadership has resulted in more than tenfold annual revenue growth. Prior to joining DrFirst, Andrew held C-level and executive positions at some of the industry’s most successful companies, including Epocrates, Sermo, and Gobiquity Mobile Health. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Arizona – Eller College of Management, and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario in Canada.  He has been recognized by PharmaVOICE 100 as one of the top 100 Most Inspiring and Motivational Individuals Throughout the Life-Sciences Industry. Andrew serves as a leader and ambassador for All Saints’ Episcopal Day School mission with its partner school in Gascogne, Haiti.

Anthony Brooke
President, Technology and Provider Solutions

Anthony is an innovation change agent, technology entrepreneur, and healthcare champion whose 30-year career is punctuated by successful product launches, robust software platforms, and global leadership. As Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, Anthony stands at the forefront of DrFirst’s breakthrough ideas, identifying strategies, business opportunities, and new technologies with the capacity to improve healthcare processes and patient care outcomes. From lending expertise to Fortune 50 companies to leading spirited startups to new heights, Anthony’s career prior to joining DrFirst is defined by his capacity for inspiring human ingenuity, creativity, and collaboration among his team. He previously held C-level positions at Momentum Capital Management and Seamless Medical Systems (acquired by GetWell). A certified manufacturing engineer (CMfgE), Anthony earned his engineering degree from Wentworth Institute of Technology.

 

Luis Angel - DrFirst

Luis Angel
President, Patient and Pharmacy Solutions

Luis has a distinctive track record as an entrepreneur and corporate leader in the life sciences and technology space. He leads DrFirst’s Patient Solutions division with the goal to develop, market, and scale innovative solutions that help patients manage their prescriptions. Prior to joining DrFirst, Luis worked for Novartis Pharmaceuticals in Switzerland as Global Head of Marketing Effectiveness. He later held several management roles at Novartis in Sales, Operations, and Finance across the U.S. and Europe. Luis also founded GetMyRx, a platform that connected patients with pharmacies in 3,000 locations to facilitate delivery of medications. Luis earned an MBA from INSEAD and a bachelor’s degree in Biological Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Zach Fox DrFirst

Zachary Fox
EVP, Business Development

Zach has led continuous growth in mature and new IT market ventures for over 27 years in business development and executive leadership roles. For the past 22 years, he has focused on healthcare IT, leading teams to partner with payers and clinical solution vendors that serve healthcare professionals across ambulatory, acute, and post-acute care settings. As President of Partners for DrFirst, Zach has built the country’s leading channel of nearly 300 EHR, HIS, and clinical-solution vendors that integrate and resell innovative e-prescribing and medication management solutions as native functionality in their core systems to over 300,000 prescribers and their patients. As Vice President of Payers, Zach led pioneering efforts for national e-prescribing strategy and rollouts with large payers, establishing DrFirst as the clear leader in medication management programs to payer-provider networks.  Zach earned bachelor’s degrees in Business and English from Westmont College.

Kunal Agarwal - DrFirst

Kunal Agarwal
EVP, Hospital and Health Systems

With nearly 20 years of experience in developing and managing enterprise health information systems, Kunal has dedicated his career to improving healthcare through pragmatic innovations. As a healthcare strategist and technologist, he is passionate about driving DrFirst growth, vision, and delivery of next-generation product solutions while building greater customer advocacy through value realization. Prior to his leadership role at DrFirst, he was at CCITI NY/CCLC Solutions (an affiliate of GNYHA), spearheading the launch of secure and interoperable solutions to improve the quality of patient safety and care while reducing the cost of transferring patients across care transitions. At New York eHealth Collaborative, a state-wide health information network, Kunal led technical vision and product direction to connect healthcare providers to share patient information securely across the state. At Healthix, Kunal was the founding member of product and technology departments to exchange health information across communities to advance patient care. At Epic, Kunal wore multiple leadership hats in R&D and was instrumental in steering various provider and pharmacy solutions, including launching a new ambulatory pharmacy product to market. Kunal earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Pune Institute of Computer Technology and a master’s in Computer Science from University of Southern California.