Digitally Hand Holding Patients Through Medication Management
By Omri Shor, Founder & CEO at Medisafe®
Let’s start out with some numbers. A few statistics:
- There are 3.8 billion prescriptions written each year in the United States.1
- 760 million prescriptions – one in five – are never filled.2
- Of those that are filled, 50 percent are taken incorrectly with regard to timing, dosage, duration or frequency.3
Where does that leave us? With 1.52 billion prescriptions taken correctly, and a whopping 2.28 billion – or 60 percent of prescriptions – unfilled or taken incorrectly. I think we can all agree this is an issue that needs to be fixed.
So why the focus now? Well, according to a new report, this year the FDA will evaluate more than 150 new drugs for approval.4 Oncology will drive the greatest number of potential new drug entrants, with 44 drugs in the cancer space in the pipeline. The second largest drug class is neurology. Twenty-nine drugs for neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, are also slated for approval.5
Given the wave of anticipated approvals, it’s critical for pharma companies to take steps to ensure patients will have access to and use these drugs correctly – especially when it comes to specialty drugs, which are classified as high-cost, high-complexity and/or high touch.6
Pharma companies that want to ensure efficacy need to support patients from first fill on to navigating throughout complex treatments. Digital companions that provide personalized support for patients managing specialty medication regimens have been demonstrated to improve adherence and outcomes.
Regular touchpoints including customized motivational feedback, timely therapeutic resources and reminders for patients to take and refill their medications reduces disease burden and ultimately improves quality of life. In addition, digital medication support allows for easier identification and targeted interventions for patients who may benefit from additional assistance.
With the approaching wave of specialty drug approvals, pharma must act now and support patients with digital companions that can digitally handhold patients through specialty medication complexities.
Find out what Medisafe can do for you and your patients by sending us a quick email. We’ll get right back to you.
[1] Cutler D, Everett W. Thinking outside the pillbox—medication adherence as a priority for health care reform. New England Journal of Medicine 2010;362:1553–5.
[2] Osterberg L, Blaschke T. Adherence to medication. New England Journal of Medicine 2005;353:487–97.
[3] Osterberg L, Blaschke T. Adherence to medication. New England Journal of Medicine 2005;353:487–97.
[4] Optum.com. (2020). Drug Pipeline Insights Report. [online] Available at: https://www.optum.com/content/dam/optum3/optum/en/resources/PDFs/OptumRx_Q1_2020%20PipelineInsightsReport.pdf [Accessed 25 Feb. 2020].
[5] Optum.com. (2020). Drug Pipeline Insights Report. [online] Available at: https://www.optum.com/content/dam/optum3/optum/en/resources/PDFs/OptumRx_Q1_2020%20PipelineInsightsReport.pdf [Accessed 25 Feb. 2020].
[6] Gleason PP, Alexander GC, Starner CI, Ritter ST, Van Houten HK, Gunderson BW, Shah ND. Health plan utilization and costs of specialty drugs within 4 chronic conditions. Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy. 2013 Sep;19(7):542-8.