Medication adherence app reminds pharmacy's HIV patients to take meds

By Brian Dolan
07:02 am
Share

Avella mscripts appA recent study from San Francisco-based mscripts and retail pharmacy Avella Specialty Pharmacy found that mscripts mobile pharmacy app helped Avella's HIV patients to become more adherent to their medication. The Avella-branded app, created by mscripts, includes refill reminders, dosage reminders, and other medication management features.

Some 224 HIV patients used mscripts' app in the study, while 1,896 did not. The companies report that 79 percent of those using the app achieved at least 90 percent adherence, while 65 percent of the patients not using the app posted a 90 percent adherence rate or higher. HIV treatment generally requires patients to be at least 90 percent adherent to achieve viral suppression. Mscripts notes that the CDC reported that only 30 percent of HIV-positive Americans have achieved viral suppression. 

“HIV regimens have decreased in complexity, however, medication non-adherence continues to be a major cause of HIV-related morbidity and mortality,” Dr. Eric Sredzinski, Pharm.D. Avella’s Executive Vice President of Clinical Affairs and Quality Assurance said in a statement. “This new mobile health application is yet another opportunity for Avella to maintain its focus on providing comprehensive support to our patients while empowering them to achieve improved outcomes.”

Mscripts also found that those patients using the mobile app were almost three times less likely to stop refilling their meds. According to the company, about 2.5 million patients have used the company's mobile apps and text messaging-based programs.

McKesson tapped mscripts in 2013 to bring the app developers technology to its pharmacy clients and some well known providers, including Henry Ford Health System, have leveraged mscripts' technology for their own branded health apps.

Share