Back when Tony Lee was filling prescriptions as a retail pharmacist, he began dreaming about how to make his job better.
“I saw a lot of pharmacists who were just burnt out and not very happy with their jobs,” said Lee, MBA 25. Many were frustrated by long retail hours and felt stuck behind the counter, rushing to fill prescriptions instead of doing the clinical work they were trained to do. They wanted to help patients, have more flexible schedules, and the option to work remotely, but those opportunities rarely existed.
Little did Lee know that his career dissatisfaction would fuel a business plan for AidRx, a startup he co-founded at Haas that connects pharmacies and outpatient physicians to remote pharmacists. Lee describes AidRx as akin to “Upwork for clinical pharmacies.”
Lee, who will graduate from the Haas Evening & Weekend MBA Program this May, founded the company with Cindy (Xin) Zhao, MBA 24, and Ike Ma, MBA 26. The startup has already gained momentum landing a spot among a 2025 cohort of seven startups chosen for Techstars AI Health Baltimore—a three month startup accelerator program powered by Johns Hopkins University and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.
For Lee, the timing to expand AidRx’s mission in Techstars is perfect. First, there’s an ongoing healthcare worker shortage that’s encouraging a shift to more online services. Second, more primary care clinics and ACOs (Accountable Care Organizations) are moving to a model that pays them based on patient health outcome—instead of on the number of appointments completed.
But even with this shift, few caregivers can afford to hire full-time pharmacists—even though those who did report real impact including improved medication use, earlier diagnosis, and fewer hospital admissions, Lee said.
That’s where AidRx comes in by giving ACOs and primary care clinics flexible access to remote clinical pharmacists who can help deliver better patient outcomes, Lee said. By supporting care teams without adding full-time overhead, AidRx makes it possible for pharmacists to practice at the top of their license. “It’s time to shift the dynamic, where pharmacists are no longer an undervalued part of the healthcare team, but instead recognized as essential providers driving better patient outcomes,” he said.
“It’s time to shift the dynamic, where pharmacists are no longer an undervalued part of the healthcare team.” – Tony Lee, MBA 25
AidRx allows clinics to upload information about patients who need specific interventions like medication optimization, chronic disease follow-ups, or travel health consults. Pharmacists on the platform log in and are matched with cases that align with their clinical expertise, completing the work without juggling multiple systems or credentials. “We’re essentially matching the pharmacist specialty with the very specific need of the providers,” Lee says. “This makes it easy for clinics to access specialized support and for pharmacists to deliver care they’re trained for —remotely and at scale.”
Through Techstars in Baltimore, AidRx has already signed on two customers, a cardiology and urology practice. The accelerator program, which began April 1, culminates with Techstars Demo Day on June 5, when Lee will pitch the company to investors at the Baltimore Ravens M&T Bank stadium.
“Techstars has been really helpful in connecting us with the set of clinicians who could use our service in the U.S. market,” Lee says. “Instead of just chasing after who to talk to in the corporate or enterprise setting, they’re able to make a warm introduction right away.”
Lee is focused on building traction for AidRx in Maryland and California, where insurance regulations allow pharmacists to be registered as health care providers. But the vision for AidRx is much larger. “I want to bring pharmacists here in the U.S. the ability to really share their clinical superpower with as many people as possible,” he said.
Lee credits Haas mentors who helped AidRx succeed so far, including Rhonda Shrader, executive director of the Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Program and the Bay Area Node for NSF I-Corps, and Dawn McGee, executive director of the Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Hub, and professional faculty member Kurt Beyer.
“The people and resources at Berkeley Haas helped me validate our idea and get to where we are now,” Lee said.
Techstars’ culture also aligns closely to Haas’, Lee said, noting that of the four Berkeley Haas Defining Leadership Principles, questioning the status quo resonates most.
“We’re allowing pharmacists to become more mainstream, and that just hasn’t been done before,” Lee says. “It’s really exciting to say, ‘Hey, pharmacists can do this, too. We can even do it better, and provide more value in healthcare along the way.’”
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