This appeared a little while ago.
- NEXT IN TECH
- May 20, 2013, 8:07 p.m. ET
Forget to Take Medicine? These Pills Will Tell Your Doctor
Startups Devise Ways to Help Patients Stick to Their Pill-Taking Schedule
By TIMOTHY HAY
Startups are coming up with new technologies, such as "digital pills," aimed at getting people to take medicine only as directed. Timothy Hay joins The News Hub. Photo: AdhereTech.
Startup companies are coming up with new technologies aimed at getting people to take medicine only as directed.
Taking medication haphazardly—skipping doses, lapsing between refills or taking pills beyond their expiration date—has been linked to health complications and hundreds of millions of wasted dollars for insurers and hospitals.
AdhereTech pill bottle. It glows blue during the optimal dosage time and it flashes red when the dosage is missed.
An IDEO concept for a medicine bottle that would show spots like a rotting banana when past expiration date.
"After six months' time, only half of people taking prescription medicines are taking them as directed," said Troyen Brennan, chief medical officer of drug retailer CVS Caremark Corp.
Health insurers and pharmacy-benefits managers like CVS have long relied on robo-calls, mailers and face-to-face meetings with pharmacists to keep patients on their dosing schedule.
Now they are evaluating a range of more cost-effective technologies, from pills and bottles with digital sensors, to data analytics software and social games that offer patients rewards.
Insurers and pharmacies are motivated in part by Medicare, which offers financial rewards for proving their members have improved their overall adherence to medication schedules.
Lots more here with photos:
I just love the ideas here - as long as the cost does not wind up being silly this may indeed help!
David.
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