LodgeNet Healthcare Partners With American Society of Health-System Pharmacists to Improve Clinical Outcomes

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 work together to encourage patient compliance and improve health outcomes through the delivery of personalized medication education.

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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.

Rooted in ASHP's acclaimed AHFS Drug Information® (AHFS DI) compendium, the AHFS Consumer Medication Information™ (AHFS CMI) database provides the content for the My Medication application in patient friendly terms. Published by ASHP, this database is compliant with current consumer medication information guidelines established by governmental agencies and is derived from proven sources 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 and has earned federal status for establishing prescribing standards on accepted uses of medications. My Medication delivers the consumerized version of 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."

About LodgeNet Interactive

LodgeNet Interactive Corporation is the leading provider of media and connectivity solutions designed to meet the unique needs of hospitality, healthcare and other guest-based businesses. LodgeNet Interactive serves approximately 1.8 million hotel rooms worldwide in addition to healthcare facilities throughout the United States. The Company's services include: Interactive Television Solutions, Broadband Internet Solutions, Content Solutions, Professional Solutions and Advertising Media Solutions. LodgeNet Interactive Corporation owns and operates businesses under the industry leading brands: LodgeNet, LodgeNetRX, and The Hotel Networks. LodgeNet Interactive is listed on NASDAQ and trades under the symbol LNET. For more information, please visit www.lodgenet.com.

LodgeNet and eSUITE are trademarks or registered trademarks of LodgeNet Interactive Corporation.  Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

About the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

For more than 60 years, ASHP has helped pharmacists who practice in hospitals and health systems improve medication use and enhance patient safety. The Society's 35,000 members include pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who practice in inpatient, outpatient, home-care, and long-term-care settings, as well as pharmacy students. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists help people make the best use of medicines, visit ASHP's Web site, www.ashp.org, or its consumer Web site, www.SafeMedication.com.

SOURCE LodgeNet Interactive Corporation