Medication non-adherence is a big problem.  According to sources quoted in this article in the New York Times “studies have consistently shown that 20 percent to 30 percent of medication prescriptions are never filled and that approximately 50 percent of medications for chronic disease are not taken as prescribed”.  This is causing approximately 125,000 deaths a year in the US and 10 percent of all hospitalizations. The total economic cost is also staggering, estimated anywhere between $100 and $300 billion a year.

While there’s no clear solution for therapy non-adherence, there are new technologies that can help address some of the root causes.  MedApp, a Dutch medication adherence company, recently optimized their adherence app using the Sentiance technology. They are now able to offer smart alarms to their users.  Here’s how it works. Imagine I need to take a pill every evening after dinner. I can use MedApp to set a reminder at 7.30pm every evening. The next day, Sentiance will detect the real-time context I’m in at 7.30pm when I get the reminder.  If traffic is really bad that day and I am still in my car on my way home from work, for example, Sentiance detects this and MedApp will send an extra reminder after Sentiance detects I have arrived home.

With Sentiance MedApp is able to send the right reminders at the right time based on my real-time context. Sentiance also predicts relevant moments and routines throughout my day which MedApp uses to personalize the notifications they send me.  The app literally adapts itself to how I lead my everyday life. Ultimately Sentiance helps MedApp identify key moments of non-adherence and predict the best moments for medication intake.

Sentiance and MedApp have quantified the impact of the context-aware smart alarms through a survey to its users. The results of the trial exceeded expectations. Almost 76% of test users indicated that the smart alarms were helpful.  39.5% stated they would have forgotten their medication without them.

For full details, download MedApp’s whitepaper.

Want to know more about the Sentiance platform and how it can fuel your customer’s journey? Reach out to us.

Interested in knowing more about MedApp? Visit their website.