A medication adherence business is working with health systems, caregivers and patients in what it sees a niche opportunity to remind seniors to take their pills. The estimated $290 billion market opportunity has motivated plenty of entrepreneurs to solve the multi-pronged puzzle of what will motivate people to take their pills as well as what puts patients off doing this.
In a phone interview with MedaCheck founder and CEO Jeffrey Shepard, he talked about how the company has evolved since it graduated from an accelerator two years ago and how it is seeing a 15 percent to 20 percent increase in adherence among its users.
Its tablet-based program has three components around three settings — CheckBox, PillBox and CheckIn. When consumers order the program they give personal information about medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, along with vitamin supplements and allergy info. The company enters that info into users’ devices for the CheckBox setting. A virtual Pillbox app reminds users of the medication they need to take with images, in case they forget the name of it, and also shows the dosage. The third component, CheckIn, gives realtime feedback on the person’s health status. If users don’t acknowledge they’ve taken their medication on the platform, designated caregivers are notified and called.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
The company has shied away from making its platform WiFi dependent. It uses a connection provided by AT&T 4G network.
Shepard observed that “a strong majority of pilltakers don’t have WiFi, but they do have a phone.” Shepard added: “We wanted to have a more integrated product …that ties in caregivers to our system.”
There are a lot of reasons why people skip their medications. They don’t like the side effects, they’re depressed, or maybe it’s due to expenses that month. But frequently, side effects could be mitigated if the physician is told. “Everybody we have spoken with knows that getting a silver bullet [for adherence] is much more difficult than it seems.”
We frequently hear that the health IT space is on fire. Small startups are figuring out complex questions that other companies have not been able to get around.
Shepard said in addition to the direct to consumer market about a dozen hospitals have expressed an interest in the platform. Since he started the company it has grown to 10 people. It got some funding help through the Cincinnati-based Innov8 healthcare startup accelerator as a member of its inaugural class.
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
When the company was developing its platform it initially did a lot of interviews of several dozen seniors who would be potential users. They would get apprehensive at the idea of leaving out the pillbox so the company took that into consideration.
By having multiple touch points, Shepard said, patients become conditioned to expect a call if they miss a medication dose. “The key we have found to boosting adherence is having more than one touch point. A text message, a phone call then a family member, then email
and a text message to the family. In a small amount of time users quickly learn they will get a phone call. When that happens over and over, they respond a lot more. It builds in the habit of needing to respond to the device.”
Three hospital systems are using Medacheck’s platform for different needs. It is in the midst of raising a $3.5 million Series A round. It’s also having some interesting conversations with ACOs, pharmaceutical companies and payers and about applying its platform to specific diseases.
