An app to remind you to take your medications ?

Whatever the reason, medication non-adherence is an expensive and potentially deadly problem, resulting in 89,000 deaths and $100 billion per year in unnecessary hospital costs. The American Heart Association reports that medication non-adherence is the number one problem in treating illness today.  Now some are suggesting that an app might help patients stay compliant when it comes to medications but that is shortsighted thinking.

There are a lot of reasons for patient non compliance when it comes to medications and there isn’t one solution that’s going to provide an answer.  This is especially true in assuming that either text messaging or an app is, alone, going to make patients more compliant.   I can’t think of anything more intrusive than your phone sending your a message to take your medications reminding you that you have a health condition that needs to be treated.

We tested an app for Type 2 diabetics that reminded them to either check their blood sugar or take their medications and it did not test well because the people within the research said “I don’t need my phone reminding me I have diabetes”.  Others said that the alarm could come at awkward times, i.e. in meetings or while driving, but most said they did not find such a tool useful.

There isn’t one solution to increase compliance for patients.  It has to be based on a behavioral approach with a range of tools, that when working together, provide the patient with real life reasons why they need to stay compliant.

A study published the New England Journal of Medicine makes several suggestions for improving patient compliance, such as lowering co-payments for medications, using healthcare information technology to track prescriptions, and an outcome-based payment system for providers. But what about patients who forget to take their pills? Elderly patients who are on a complex drug regimen are especially likely to skip doses or take double doses. For patients such as these, the standard seven-day pill box may not suffice. A number of companies have developed automated pill dispensers to aid medication compliance:

InforMedix markets the Med-eMonitor System, a multi-part medication compliance solution that includes a medication device and a database. The device timestamps the date, time and medications taken, and then the Med-eXpert database compiles the data for use by researchers.

The SIMpill Medication Adherence System text-messages the patient’s mobile phone if the patient does not take their medication or takes it at the incorrect time. If the patient still does not take their medication, an alert can be sent to their caregiver or healthcare provider. The system also monitors prescription refills and alerts the pharmacy when the patient is running low.

INRange Systems manufactures EMMA, the first and only remote medication management system approved by the FDA. Medications are packaged in blister cards and loaded into a central delivery unit. The patient’s dosing schedule is transmitted, either by the patient or a healthcare provider, to the unit using a wireless broadband connection. When it is time for the patient to take their medications, the unit alerts the patient, who tells the system to dispense the pills.

MedReady offers several different models of its automated pill dispenser. The FL model has a flashing red light for patients who have trouble hearing alarms. The LF model emits a low-frequency tone for patients who have problems hearing high frequencies. MedReady 1650 sends caregivers a daily report on their patient’s compliance.

Dispense-a-Pill, developed by HealthOneMed, can store a 90-day supply of up to 8 medications. Patients can also enter information for injectable or liquid medications. An alarm sounds when it is time for the patient to take their medicine. If the patient does not comply, a voice notification is sent to the caregiver’s phone.

Until biopharma companies work with insurers to increase compliance it will keep costing all of us more money at a time when costs are being cut everywhere.

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• CareSpeak Partners with Everyday Health to Launch New Application to Help Remind HIV Patients to Take Their Medications (prweb.com)
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• Health Care Thoughts: Non-Compliant Patients (businessinsider.com)