Medication management is an expensive, and complex healthcare problem. Because taking medications is only on a small part of patient’s lives, taking them correctly can be complicated and burdensome. Patients might not take medications because that gives them the sense of having their lives under control and not dictated by medicine. They will get fatigued by pill reminders because getting constantly told that you have a condition, can get emotionally draining. This causes non-adherence and can lead to complications. But some companies are proving that the mission to help patients is not an impossible task. 

It’s been clear for years that for medication management solutions to work, they need to go beyond pill reminders. Medisafe is the world’s leading consumer medication management platform, with over 7 million users in almost 200 countries. On Medisafe, patients manage almost 30,000 medication doses every hour. The app is free for the users, but the generated data creates value that helps partners of Medisafe to promote collaboration and improved decision-making throughout the healthcare industry. 

What is the company’s secret? 

Jennifer Butler - Chief Marketing Officer at Medisafe, says the key component of Medisafe is that it looks at each patient holistically. “Pill reminders are annoying, and they're annoying because they're needed. I understand patients don't always want to be reminded of their condition. There are ways that you can work around supporting patients by empowering them. That makes patients engaged and in order to engage them they have to be satisfied.” 

Medisafe has a consumer-first approach. It is as easy as possible for patients to add their medications. They can design the shape and color of the medication so reminders are clearer. Once medications are uploaded, patients then set and are in control of how they want to be reminded about their therapy. And then there is the larger support system  - nurses, the family that can get involved. “Sometimes friends and family also need to be involved in the situation. As a parent, I want to be supportive of my children’s’ medication needs. For example, parents don’t have to keep reminding their 16-year-old to take their medication. They can monitor that without getting involved all the time,” says Jennifer Butler.  

From a pill reminder to a wide-ranging support system

The founders started developing the platform after their father miscalculated and lost track of his insulin takes and took an extra dosage. He did not suffer long-term consequences, but the experience did make the founders think about how they could help him and other patients manage their treatment better. “Our users are juggling, on average three to five medications under the age of 65. Over the age of 65, that increases to seven. We're in a virtual world, we do everything in our phones, so putting your medication schedule into your phone and having the reminders is really an easier way of incorporating medication management into your life,” explains Jennifer Butler. 

Over time, the business model of Medisafe evolved and the company started partnering with Pharma to provide patients additional information and support with their medications. “We build specific support programs around the brands. If you're on a specific brand, and it has a more complex journey, we will support the treatment with a branded program within Medisafe. We recognize that with advancements in medications as technologies evolve, there needs to be more support around the patient. It's beyond just taking a pill. What if you have an injection? The fear of injection is a huge hurdle and barrier for a lot of biologics. It takes time for the patient to get through that first self-injection to a point when it becomes a routine taking a few seconds,” says Jennifer Butler. 

The support programs provided by Pharma differ from country to country. In the US, Medisafe supports over 13,000 brands on the platform. “When you put in your medication, if we have a program related to that specific brand, the app will invite you to that program so you can get the additional support you needs,” says Jenifer Buttler. Pharma offers a lot of resources on their websites. As a user though, you have to go to those websites, you have to know what you're looking for at a specific time and find it. Hardly then you get the benefit of the information. “What we've done is taken that information and support the patients at the time of need. So we've dynamically put that into the patient journey needs.”

“Patients want transparency.” 

Recently Tal Gilvoly, the CEO of Medivisor which provides people with serious or chronic medical conditions all the cutting-edge information they need know - personalized just for them - wrote a blog post about the importance of communication with patients in clinical trials. “Patient trust is an essential component of successful clinical trials. In order to cultivate that confidence, patients need to be kept informed and updated, from the beginning of and throughout their clinical trial experience,” he wrote. In a recent survey, 47% of clinical trial patients who ended their clinical trial involvement noted they did not feel motivated to continue. “Likely, those patients did not receive steady updates and effective communication regarding the clinical trial. It is difficult to stay committed to a clinical trial without feeling informed,” commented Gilvoly. 

Medisafe is not yet tapping into the area of connecting patients with clinical trials. The company does however connect patients to their clinicians in some cases. “Patients need transparency. We get transparency in everything we do in our life. Patients want to know where their medication is, and if it's going through the prior authorization process. How much will they pay? When are the medications going to be shipped to them? “For complex medications, we will provide the transparency. In our programs, we have hubs so that the patients are connected with their clinicians, who will support them through this process as well. What they usually have for connection with hubs is a phone call. And now we have it all in the app for them. So they're digitally connected, and they can track their needs as well. I think that transparency is huge whether you're in commercial space, or clinical trials, you want to see what's going on and understand how best to manage around your current status,” comments Butler.

Tune in for the full discussion in iTunes or Spotify.

Some questions addressed:

• Medisafe is the world’s leading consumer medication management platform, approaching 7 million users in more than 150 countries. How did you get this big? 

• Today, nearly all pharma companies are using digital companions to increase patient engagement. Let’s talk a bit about that. What can you tell us about the evolution of field of digital companions for increased medication adherence? 

• Medisafe is used by 7 million people. What types of conditions do you support? How do patients even find you? Which countries are you present in? 

• How does app content differ in different countries?

• What do you find most tricky when trying to achieve medication adherence? 

• Are long-term chronic patients more prone to non-adherence because of their experience with their condition and the impression that if they feel well, they stop taking their medications? How do you engage them? 

• What are Just-In-Time interventions? 

• Medisafe's Care Connector enables clinicians to digitally connect with patients through an integrated platform with real-time data and care support strategies. How do you ensure doctors don’t get overwhelmed with messages from the patients? 

• Can you explain how you build bridges between patients, healthcare providers and pharma companies? And how does the app differ based on the residency of a patient?