Medisafe Study Shows the Positive Impact of Patient-Caregiver Connections on Medication Adherence Rates

BOSTON, Nov. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Medisafe, the leading mHealth platform for medication management with almost 2.5 million users, announced today the results of its retrospective study demonstrating the positive effect of its Medfriend social support feature on medication adherence. The study showed that 40% of previously non-adherent users (taking their medications less than 80% of the time) became adherent (taking their medications at least 80% of the time) after adding a Medfriend. The results underscore the vital role of family and friends (non-professional caregivers), whom Medisafe is recognizing as part of its celebration of November's National Family Caregivers month.

When a Medisafe user adds and connects with a Medfriend, the designated caregiver receives alerts about missed medication doses and can view the user's history and schedule. This makes the patient more accountable, encourages positive behavioral changes and helps prevent serious health events that could arise from a missed dose. The Medfriend feature was integral within Medisafe from the beginning, since a double dose of insulin threatened the health of founders Omri and Rotem Shor's father.

"Seeing how much Medfriend benefits our users is an affirmation of our founders' vision as well as the critical role caregivers play in the lives of those who need help managing their health," said Jon Michaeli, Medisafe's EVP Marketing and Business Development. "Medisafe is proud to help caregivers in their efforts, free them from constant check-ins, and alleviate the worry that comes with strict medication routines."

Study Methodology and Results

Medisafe's study looked at the impact of the Medfriend feature on both adherence and retention:

Group One - Adherence

1,617 users who were non-adherent before adding a Medfriend and were active two weeks before and after adding a Medfriend

• 71% improved adherence after adding a Medfriend
• 40% became adherent after adding a Medfriend
• 17% average improvement in adherence

Group Two - Retention

4,000 users with a Medfriend and 4,000 users without a Medfriend, all of whom must have a) installed Medisafe during a two-month period between 5/29/15 and 7/28/15 and b) registered a medication dose at least once

• After 90 days on Medisafe, users with a Medfriend were 59% more likely to have remained active

The Medfriend study results are consistent with findings of other high profile studies:

• A 2012 McKinsey study showed that "hospital costs were 24 percent higher for socially isolated individuals than for socially connected individuals with an equivalent level of clinical risk, and that the socially isolated individuals also had lower prescription drug use."
• A recent CVS Health report evaluated 50 peer-reviewed articles, which directly measured the connection between social support systems and medication adherence. Sixty-seven percent of the studies found a significant association between the two.

All of Medisafe's research results can be found online at www.medisafe.com/research. 

About Medisafe

Medisafe is the leading cloud-synced mHealth platform that helps patients stay on top of all their medications. More than just a pill organizer, Medisafe makes it easy to adhere to the most complicated medication schedules, enables care collaboration between a patient, their loved ones and physicians, and delivers content and services personalized to specific conditions and situations. Medisafe's almost 2.5 million users have recorded over 250 million successful medication doses on their iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, leading to 90,000 user reviews that average 4.5 out of 5 stars in the iTunes and Google Play app stores.

Contact:
Ariela Weinberger
[email protected] 
610-716-2978

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SOURCE Medisafe

Related Links

http://www.medisafe.com