Remember the Reminders… it just makes good sense.

Remember the Reminders… the medication reminders, that is.

Considering the scope of the medication adherence and compliance problem in the U.S. it just makes good sense to use any means possible to help patients improve their compliance with prescription drug therapy. If you’ve read any of my recent blog posts or follow healthcare news at all you’re well aware of the extent of the problem, the cost of which is now reported to be over $300 billion annually in the U.S. alone.

I’m now seeing other effects of non-compliance with information suggesting the medication compliance problem may be putting the public at even greater risk. There is evidence showing over 50% of drug clinical trial patients do not report missed doses to the clinical trial study team. This could result in problems experienced later by the public after the FDA has approved the sale of new drug products in the market place.

Finding the right fit –

So how do medication reminders fit into the scheme of things and what reminder tools or devices should be used?

There are many medication reminder tools and devices available ranging from simple pill boxes or organizers and reminder caps on pill bottles to smart phone apps and automated pill dispensers. The choice of medication reminder tools or devices would also depend on the needs of the patient with special considerations given for high risk patients who may be living in environments with little or no supervision by family or outside healthcare services.

Direct or indirect patient contact through text messages, email or telephonic messages will also influence patient compliance. But even with the plethora of medication reminder devices and techniques available we cannot discount the influence of direct patient education and encouragement from healthcare professionals.

Patient education coupled with the right reminder tools or device will produce the greatest dividends towards combating the medication adherence and compliance problem that exists today.

Improving patient outcomes – saving healthcare dollars –

Here are a few examples where medication compliance reminder tools or devices can be easily inserted into the healthcare delivery process:

• reminder devices provided through hospital discharge planning and follow up of high risk patients to prevent re-admissions
• reminder devices provided during counseling sessions by pharmacists, home health or home care agencies
• reminder devices provided before leaving the physician’s office with a new prescription for maintenance medications
• reminder devices provided in conjuction with special clinical monitoring including anti-coagulation clinic therapy or other similar outpatient services
• reminder devices provided by pharmaceutical companies marketing products and drug therapies to improve product recognition, acceptance and compliance
• reminder devices provided as an adjunct to monitoring patients participating in clinical trials
• reminder devices provided by insurance, 3rd party payers or self insured businesses to reduce expenses related to medication non-compliance in patients taking maintenance medications
• reminder devices provided to residents of independent living or retirement communities

A liberal dose of medication reminders –

For the most part we can’t control a patient’s healthcare decisions. We can’t make people take their medications if they’ve decided not to. We can, however, help steer them in the right direction with proper education and encouragement. Adding a liberal dose of medication reminder devices to the patient’s drug therapy regimen along with patient education has the greatest chance of improving compliance with prescription medication therapy.

Put on your thinking caps –

I challenge you to think of other ways to incorporate medication reminder devices into the healthcare delivery process. I look forward to your thoughts and ideas and encourage you to comment or contact me directly via email at dave.walker@medtime-compliance.com

 

No Wooden Clubs or 2 by 4’s Please…

For the most part people go to their physician or healthcare provider to get help or treatment for a medical problem. But some people are so stubborn they’ll wait until the last minute, suffering with an ache, pain or other uncontrolled symptom of disease or condition until they have no other recourse but make an appointment to see their doctor. It’s often only when they get to this virtual point of no return are they willing to give in, seek advice and visit their ‘healer’ of choice.

Similarly, due to stubborness, the desire to follow doctor’s orders seems to disappear for many patients as soon as the prescribed treatment or therapy relieves the pain or symptoms they were suffering from. This happens all too often with antibiotic therapy where patients stop taking their medication when symptoms subside, terminating the therapy before the full course of treatment has ended. It’s also evident when a patient is prescribed a maintenance medication to control a disease or chronic condition such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, COPD or diabetes, often leading to uncontrolled symptoms, progression of disease state or even death.

What can we do to increase patient adherence and compliance with their prescribed medication regimen?

Lack of medication adherence… America’s other drug problem-

medication compliance cards, not clubs…

Adherence and compliance to medication therapy or prescription drug regimen seems to be an ever looming problem, adding over $300 billion in healthcare expense annually in the U.S. alone. Recent statistics posted by Express Scripts indicate 69% of non-adherence to drug therapy is behavioral in nature resulting from forgetfulness or procrastination. So what’s it going to take to get people to take their medications?

No Wooden Clubs or 2 by 4’s –

Pharmacists are continually frustrated with this problem. I’m sure physicians and other prescribers are as well. Because, for the most part, we can’t “make” a patient take their medication if they don’t want to. Even when we spend the extra time to educate patients about their disease state and prescribed medications we can’t compel anybody to be compliant if they’re unwilling to do so.

$331 billion is at stake-

Improving medication adherence and ensuring timely medication use are the greatest opportunites to cutting the nearly one-half trillion dollars of avoidable healthcare costs worldwide. Any measures taken to reduce this expense and advance the responsible use of medicines  will lead to improved health outcomes as well.

What we can do, and should do, is to continue to educate, offer encouragement and provide medication reminder devices and tools to help patients who need to improve their medication compliance.

There are many tools available ranging from simple pill boxes and reminder caps on pill bottles to smart phone apps and automated pill dispensers. Some of the most unique, innovative and easy to use reminders devices are the medication compliance cards from Med Time Compliance. These devices can be designed for specific needs ranging from their iRemindHer once a day oral contraceptive compliance card and multiple daily dosing reminder cards to unique products designed for complex dosing regimens such as growth hormone injections or chemotherapy medication regimens with variable dosing schedules.

A simple thing-

As healthcare providers we should all adopt the slogan, “Remember the Reminders” to help improve medication adherence and compliance. Adding reminders to the patient education process will undoubtedly become one of the simplest, least expensive ways to improve medication adherence and compliance in the future.