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Lights, Ring Tones and E-mails – Oh My!

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

[Editor-in-Chief]

Vitality Inc, is a new firm that reports to address the billion-dollar adherence problem for pharmaceutical brands, retail pharmacies, and healthcare providers with a simple device — an Internet-connected pill cap.

What it Is

Vitality GlowCaps illuminate, play a melody, and even ring a home phone so patients don’t forget to take their pills. They can send weekly emails to remote caregivers, create accountability with doctors through an adherence report, and automatically refill prescriptions. Vitality reports to improve medication adherence, health, and peace of mind.

Video: http://rxvitality.com/glowcaps.html

Name Droppers

According to its website, Vitality is currently working with researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Center for Connected Health on a study to measure the impact of the GlowCaps CONNECT system.

Vitality is the only company with a product designed to tackle the combination of factors that conspire to cause non-adherent behavior.

Overkill

Our society is now at the point of paying obese patients to diet and exercise [they don’t seem to recognize the benefit], paying public school children to study [they don’t seem to recognize the benefit], and now using internet enabled technology to help patients remember to take their own medication [they don’t seem to … yada, yada, yada].

A Reasonable Query?

But, may one reasonably ask; is this admittedly “very cool” technology overkill? THINK: RFID tags for wrong extremity surgery; when common sense and a magic marker might do just as well? Sure, there may be some modicum of benefit here for elderly patients and select other reasons. But, does the marginal cost outweigh the marginal benefit? Or, is this technology really a solution in search of an exaggerated “problem” that just may involve slack personal responsibility? And, most importantly, who will pay for it?  

Assessment

Vitality Inc, leverages deep expertise in customer research, wireless consumer electronics, web services and behavioral psychology. Vitality’s patent pending solution is said offer each patient the optimal mix of intervention, feedback, reminders, accountability, education and incentives to improve their ongoing medication adherence. But, does it really improve health, and at what cost? Can’t we solve the “problem” of pill non-compliance cheaper and easier?

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Tell us what you think. Any early adopters out there, and ready to opine? Or, give em’ a click and tell us what you think! http://rxvitality.com Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Filed under: Drugs and Pharma, Ethics, Information Technology, Op-Editorials, Videos |