Amos Adler, President, Memotext
Glaucoma, the world’s second leading cause of blindness, has a number of effective therapies to help those afflicted. Despite these solutions, non-adherence rates for those treatments are reported to be between thirty-seven and fifty-nine percent. Luckily, mobile health professionals are working on ways to solve this issue. One such company, Memotext, has been developing adherence technologies and may have proof that its solution will improve those statistics.
Memotext and Microsoft’s recent study (funded by Microsoft and conducted by Johns Hopkins University) measured the efficacy of using the Memotext adherence solution combined with Microsoft's personal health tracking platform HealthVault. Patients received some combination of text message reminders and IVR messages to remind them about their medication regimen.
When patients used the combined technologies, researchers found adherence to daily glaucoma therapy increased from fifty-one to sixty-seven percent. The control group, with no intervention, saw no change in adherence. The preliminary results from the automated dosing reminder study, which followed 429 patients, were presented at the March 2011 annual meeting of the American Glaucoma Society, as well as at the 2011 Mobile Health conference held in May at Stanford.
Of course, glaucoma isn't the only disease where patients need help adhering to therapies. According to a recent study by Express Scripts, Americans might be wasting as much as $258 billion annually by not taking their prescribed medications. Another study, by NEHI, found that poor adherence is causing problems that cost $290 billion in unnecessary spending each year.
Last week, MobiHealthNews reported that two members of Congress introduced bills to allow Medicare reimbursement for more increased adherence solutions like text message reminders.
For more on Memotext's study, read the full release below:
PRESS RELEASE
The Johns Hopkins study demonstrates 16% increase in patient adherence using MEMOTEXT and Microsoft HealthVault in the first randomized clinical trial of its kind in North America.
MEMOTEXT presented “The Impact of Automated Dosing Reminders on Medication Adherence Using HealthVault,” conducted by Johns Hopkins University and funded by the Microsoft HealthVault Be Well Fund at Mobile Health 2011: What Really Works conference at Stanford University May 4-5, 2011
Preliminary results from the Automated Dosing Reminder Study (ADRS) were also presented at the March 2011 annual meeting of American Glaucoma Society.
Of the 428 participants analyzed thus far, the study showed an increase in adherence from 51 to 67% with daily glaucoma therapy using a MEMOTEXT adherence solution integrated with Microsoft HealthVault. A control group with no intervention showed no change in adherence. The study to be published this year demonstrates efficacy of MEMOTEXT solutions integrated with a personal health record.
“We are extremely pleased with the results of this adherence study.” says Amos Adler, president of MEMOTEXT. “Working with Dr. Boland and his team helped make this a success and we are proud of the impact this will have on the future of adherence and people living with glaucoma.”
About Glaucoma and Adherence
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness and visual disability worldwide. It’s estimated that 2.5 million people in the U.S. are affected by glaucoma, with another 10 million undiagnosed. According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, there are currently 70 million people worldwide who have been affected by glaucoma. Currently, there is no cure for glaucoma. However, studies have shown that reducing the eye pressure with topical medical therapy, office laser or surgery can prevent occurrence or slow disease progression. The majority of patients diagnosed with glaucoma or ocular hypertension are managed initially with medications. However, despite the availability of effective topical therapies, non-adherence in patients with glaucoma is poor and has been reported between 37-59%.
About MEMOTEXT
The leader in speech, social and mobile, medication compliance interventions, MEMOTEXT integrates behavior modification, education and real time support into the everyday lives of patients using technology appropriate to the patient population and condition. MEMOTEXT’s ability to learn and remember previously reported knowledge, intentions, and behaviors allow the treatment medication compliance platform to modify content and dialogues for the same individual over time. For more information about MEMOTEXT visit www.memotext.com or call 1-877-636-6898.
