GreatCall, which offers the easy-to-use Jitterbug mobile phone service has added two more mobile health offerings to its Services Store: Medication Reminder and Check in Call.
Jitterbug subscribers who sign up for the new $10-a-month medication reminder service will receive an automated phone call that reminds them to take a particular medication at a given time. The automated call isn't just one-way, however, it also asks users whether they took the medication and will record and track the user's compliance. Users can log-in to their Jitterbug account online to see a chart of their medication compliance or they can call Jitterbug's customer service department and have a printed out copy snail-mailed to them.
Medication Reminder enables users to "follow their medication schedule as prescribed by their doctor, track adherence to that schedule, and get prescription refill reminders—all from their easy-to-use Jitterbug J phone," according to the company. The service joins Jitterbug's other mobile health offerings: LiveNurse, Heart Healthy Tips, and Wellness Calls. A mobile personal emergency response (MPERS) service, called 5Star Emergency, which bulds on GreatCall's acquisition of MobiWatch last year, is expected to launch this fall.
GreatCall first piloted the Medication Reminder service with New Jersey-based healthcare provider Meridian Health during a six month period. In the pilot users self-report compliance rates between 63 percent and 90 percent when using the service. The reason most users in the pilot did not comply with their medication regimen? "Not needed."
Medication Reminder can remind users to to take up to 16 different medications. The reminder system will call the customer when it is time to refill their prescription, according to GreatCall. It can also connect users to their pharmacy to order the refill.
Jitterbug also launched a new $5-a-month Check in Call service that sends users automated calls and gives them the option to send out a note to their list of contacts if they need help. The service aims to provide a "sense of security" and "peace of mind."
For more read the Jitterbug press release
