One wireless device in the pipeline could improve medication compliance. It fits onto a prescription bottle and alerts patients when it's time to take their pills—and reminds them if they forget. In trials now at the Center for Connected Health, the device senses when a patient unscrews the cap on the prescription bottle and sends the information through a secure network to an online site. "I'm using it myself and I find it very helpful," says Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, director of the center, a division of Partners HealthCare in Boston.
"Adherence to medication alone can lower costs," Kvedar says. "It's a powerful tool, and just about every person should have some kind of medication device when we get them to the point where they're affordable and reliable."
As accountable care, bundled payments, and pay-for-performance become more common, improving health outcomes with wireless technology and other tools and devices makes business sense, Kvedar says. Partners is also using such cutting-edge technology to differentiate itself in the marketplace, he adds.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, managing the health care costs of their members will be critical for any managed care organization. Increasing medication compliance through this type of technology is something that should be explored and perhaps offered to members.
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