New Partnership with American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
[PRESS RELEASE] LodgeNet Healthcare, the leader in interactive patient engagement solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). The two organizations will worktogether to encourage patient compliance and improve health outcomes throughthe delivery of personalized medication education.
It is estimated that the United States spends as much as $100 billion a year on costs related to patients not adhering to their medication plans. This behavior also results in adverse health outcomes including preventable hospitalization, disease progression, disability and death. Research shows as many as 50-70% of patients don’t take medications as prescribed, leading to over 125,000 deaths each year.
“The impacts associated with noncompliance are alarming, but they are also largely preventable,” said Gary Kolbeck, General Manager of LodgeNet Healthcare. “Patient education is key in improving these statistics as studies show patients will typically comply with physicians’ orders if they understand the importance of taking medication and recognize the positive effects it can have on their health.”
Contrary to popular belief, demographic factors such as age, race, income and education level have virtually no impact on medication compliance. The most common reasons patients cite for not adhering include: not being convinced of the need for treatment; fear of adverse side effects; and, difficulty in managing complex drug regimens. Care providers can mitigate many of these concerns by employing an interactive patient engagement solution that provides medication information to patients in a format that is understandable, timely and responsive to individual needs.
My Medication is a clinically integrated application that delivers personalized medication information to patients throughout their entire care process. The application is available through eSUITE™, LodgeNet’s interactive patient solution designed to inform and empower patients by providing innovative entertainment, education and engagement tools. Care providers can use My Medication to assign personalized content to patients to educate them about their prescriptions.Patients can learn about possible side effects, understand the risks of noncompliance and most importantly, the benefits associated with taking medications as prescribed.
The AHFS Drug Information® (AHFS DI) database provides the content for the My Medication application. Published by the ASHP, this database is a tested and proven source of comparative, unbiased, and evidence-based drug information. Widely trusted as the premier source of comprehensive drug information, AHFS DI contains information from medical literature and expert advice from over 500 medical scientists, physicians, pharmacists, pharmacologists and other professionally qualified individuals. My Medication delivers this content to patients via a variety of technologies including LodgeNet’s interactive television (iTV) system, which is available in patient rooms. Information can also be pushed to patients outside the hospital setting through LodgeNet’s new pre-admission and post-discharge solutions. Patients simply choose how they want to be reached and My Medication delivers relevant content to their smart phone, Web portal, Web enabled TV or other device.
“We are excited about how this partnership can better educate patients about their medications,” said Carol Wolfe, ASHP Vice President of Publications and Drug Information Systems. “Improving the medication-use process is a critical part of enhancing the quality of patient care.”
Comments