Healthcare IT will help seniors stay compliant, report says

OAKLAND, Calif. A new report from the Center for Technology and Aging, based here in Oakland, suggests that information technology will be critical to improving medication adherence and reducing adverse effects among older adults, potentially saving tens of thousands of lives and billions of dollars.

The white paper, which first emerged in October, addresses three opportunities to improve medication compliance and persistence, including:

• Medication reconciliation, comparing medications a patient is taking against new physician orders;• Medication adherence, and• Medication monitoring. Within each area technologies being used or under development are described, along with an assessment of their pros, cons, market stage and economics.

The report identifies examples of cutting edge technology innovations that are addressing these types of opportunities, including:

• Medication kiosks, such as those piloted at the Veterans Health Administration;• Walgreen's online medication history tool;• Cognitive assessment tests like the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE);• “Rex," the talking pill bottle designed by Pittsburgh-based MedivoxRx for visually, and cognitively impaired patients;• The Med-eMonitor System, the portable electronic medication-dispensing device from Rockville, Md.-based InforMedix;• Mobile phone apps with medication management, reporting and trending features; and• Wireless point-of-care testing devices to monitor medication use.

"Medication nonadherence is responsible for up to 33% to 69% of medication-related hospital admissions and 23% of all nursing home admissions," said David Lindeman, director, Center for Technology and Aging. "As Congress debates ways to improve our healthcare system and lower costs, it will be critical to put in place incentives that encourage providers to accelerate the use of available 'med-op' technologies."

For a copy of the complete report log onto www.techandaging.org/medop_program_page.html.