With around 89,000 downloads between its November 2012 launch and July 2013, the MediSafeProject is trying to make headway in the adherence—or, rather, the non-adherence space.
The cloud-based app is currently available in Android versions and a beta iOS version (the full iOS version is expected to go live as this publication goes to print), and works in a slightly different way than other adherence apps by going beyond a one-party reminder, by creating what the company considers an ecosystem of care: the app nudges patients and then an assigned caregiver if the patient fails to indicate they’ve stuck to their schedule and taken their medications.
By MediSafe’s count, its reminders have helped users log 1.9 million doses of medication that have been taken correctly. The company has supported the free app on its own but tells MM&M the goal is to team up with partners like pharmaceutical companies and other third parties who have an interest in keeping patients on their medication schedules.
Adherence is a multi-layered hurdle that includes factors such as patient access (cost, transit), taking the right doses, and remembering that a medication has been taken. In addition to keeping patients on track, adherence apps also give insight as to what patients are up to—Mango Health, for example, noted on its blog that 14 weeks of data showed users of its app had fluctuating compliance levels, with a high point reached in mid-July, followed by three days of declining use.
From the August 01, 2013 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
