mHealth Key To Pharmacy Adherence?
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
Could the key to prescription adherence, medication management be mobile?
Jonathan Javitt, MD, MPH, writing for Modern Medicine’s Drug Topics, points out that while many of the devices used daily by the chronically ill are purchased at a local pharmacy, “the information derived from the use of these products is often not tracked, stored, or shared with a patient’s healthcare team in an accurate or timely way.” Javitt suggests, “mHealth monitoring can completely transform the way that data is collected and exchanged among a patient’s support system.
“For pharmacists, mHealth monitoring systems present an opportunity to improve the health of patients while gaining a way to become a more integral part of their healthcare teams. Individuals will naturally turn to pharmacists for information about the value of these systems and instructions for their use.”
Javitt opines pharmacists could take that opportunity to educate patients about the importance of adherence. “For example, mHealth solutions for diabetes offer the pharmacist an opportunity to employ properly credentialed diabetes education services and be compensated by most insurers. Recent experiences in the U.K. National Health Service suggest that patients may be highly receptive to the participation of their neighborhood pharmacists in their diabetes management.”
mHealth News validates Javitt’s thoughts, writing real-time mobile links between pharmacies and patients could increase medication adherence and management simply through mobile communication. "It's my job to help people with healthcare questions when they're not in a doctor's office," says Robert Oscar, president and CEO of RxEOB and also a pharmacist. "It's all about connectivity and information-sharing."
Oscar says communication between patients and their health plans is critical, and pharmacies may be the missing link between them. “While consumers will need digital tools to research various health plans and determine if a brand-name or generic drug is better, health plans will want to use the latest information from pharmacies to measure medication adherence and patient engagement, from which they can develop or modify programs that compel members to make better health decisions.”
mHealth would also improve the bottom line for pharmacies. As Javitt points out, patients with diabetes spend an average of $2,500 on supplies at their pharmacy. Providing an innovative, mobile technology could drive greater patient loyalty and optimize pharmacy spending.
Want to publish your opinion?