Insurance provider Humana has recently launched a new tool called RXMentor, which is designed to help patients manage their medications. The tool will let patients keep an up-to-date list of prescription medications, supplements, and over-the-counter items in one place. It will also give clinicians insight into what drugs their patients are taking. 

“It goes into a central depository so it is shared with all of Humana’s associates on our clinical care team,” Nick Walter, a director in the Digital Center of Excellence at Humana told MobiHealthNews. “So now anytime [a patient has] a conversation with a pharmacist or nurse or call center associate that data is shared. … So now there is a single source of truth for the consumer.”

The tool automatically receives the patient’s medication history based on claims from the last 180 days. In addition to the medications covered by insurance, patients can enter vitamins or medications they are paying for out of pocket that might not be entered by the system automatically. It also lets patients print out or share their medication history via secure email with caregivers, family members, doctors and other health providers, according to a press statement. 

Walter said that in the pilot study, the tool helped patients managing multiple health conditions and taking three or four medications simplify their daily routines.

Users who are on multiple medications and qualify for a comprehensive medication review will be prompted to schedule a complimentary one-on-one consultation with a Humana pharmacists.  

In the future the company plans on developing adherence monitors for the tool, said Walter. Currently, it is linked to the Humana care team, but for the next iteration of the tool Humana is also looking to  integrate with providers. Further, Walter said that one day the tool could connect members directly with Humana staff members to ask questions about medications. For example, a patient could virtually connect to a pharmacist if he or she has concerns or questions about taking specific medications. 

“The big differentiator here is that this is integrated with our clinical team and their tools … so it is creating a formal ecosystem,” Walter said. 

There are other medication management systems on the market as well. At HIMSS 2017, Medisafe, a medication management platform, unveiled a new feature that alerts users of drug-drug interactions. This feature allows users to enter medications as well as lifestyle habits, such as the types of foods they eat or whether they drink alcohol. 

Walter said the Humana app could help clinicians see what other drugs the patient is on and make sure that there are no harmful drug-drug interactions. 

Humana has been moving into the digital space for some time. Recently, it announced its innovation challenge, where participants are given simulated patient data to create a tool that would allow users to easily view and understand their long-term health record.