mHealth Identified as Critical Strategy in Medication Adherence Programs

SUMMIT, N.J., Aug. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile communications and multimedia technology are playing significant roles in connecting with patients to improve adherence to prescribed medications. Trends in mHealth (using mobile devices to improve health outcomes) and treatment adherence were discussed during a keynote panel at the 5^th Annual mHealth World Congress, July 24-26, in Boston, MA.

"Technology is at the heart of what we do," said panelist Aunia Grogan, CEO, Atlantis Healthcare, a global leader in developing and executing interventions to address treatment adherence.  "The strategic use of technology is critical to effectively deliver mass personalization, ensuring the right patient receives the right message at the right time, in the right way."

According to Ms. Grogan, nonadherence is a highly personalized behavior.  Research indicates most nonadherence is intentional and driven by individual patient beliefs about their illness and medications. Atlantis Healthcare pioneered an approach to treatment adherence using proven health psychology techniques to modify or reframe beliefs through a variety of channels.

"mHealth is increasingly important to us at two stages – at enrollment, where we collect consent and personal data including personal beliefs about treatment, and post-enrollment as a channel to deliver relevant and meaningful interventions that can drive long-term behavior change," said Ms. Grogan.

Joining Ms. Grogan on the panel were: Kevin Hommel, PhD, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center; Thomas Hubbard, New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI); and Tom Olenzak, Independence Blue Cross.

Representing various sectors of the healthcare system, the panelists discussed:

• Strategies for using mHealth and Telehealth to improve care management and drug adherence for at-risk patients
• The challenges of integrating mHealth into the broader healthcare ecosystem including overcoming concerns among stakeholders regarding liability

"Successful interventions require the user to be engaged," said Ms. Grogan.  "A patient-centric approach is critical to achieving engagement – and mHealth enables us to seamlessly fit into the patient's life."

For more information on Atlantis Healthcare's approach to treatment nonadherence, visit www.atlantishealthcare.com/us.

About Atlantis Healthcare
Established in 1993, Atlantis Healthcare creates and executes tailored patient support programs and personalized interventions to address treatment adherence across a wide range of chronic and acute diseases, worldwide.  Led by one of the world's largest health psychology teams, our patient-centric approach is designed to improve health outcomes and deliver optimal value for all healthcare stakeholders. 

SOURCE Atlantis Healthcare