Failure to take medication as prescribed is attributed for 10 percent of all visits to the Emergency Department and 25 percent of the admissions to skilled nursing facilities and hospitals in the U.S.
It's a big problem, and it doesn't affect only the elderly. It can be an issue for anyone who has been prescribed many multiple medications.
This week, faculty at St. John Fisher College's Wegmans School of Pharmacy released preliminary results of a study of a new system which patients can use at home, with the help of a caregiver, to dispense their pills in individual doses.
A touchscreen allows a caregiver to program the medication doses and times. An alarm sounds when it's time for the patient to take their medicine. The patient then touches a button on the screen.
The caregiver is notified by text, email or a phone call if the dispense button is not touched at the prescribed time.
Dr. Jack Brown of Fisher's School of Pharmacy designed a study to test the system in the homes of people who were prescribed multiple medications for memory problems and high blood pressure.
"These are folks who we knew had problems taking their medication. They only got it right typically about half of the time. We were able to have a substantial impact on that, where it went from 50 percent of the time getting it correct to 94 percent."
Final results of the study are expected in six months. 20 people are enrolled in the study. The preliminary results were from 10 patients.
"I think this resonates with me personally and folks who have older parents or siblings who are at home and have memory problems,” Brown said. “This allows them to stay at home with fewer problems and (fewer encounters) with the health care system."
The system, called MedaCube, was developed by Dr. Michael Berg, a professor of neurology at UR Medicine. The device is a bit larger than a toaster and it can store a 90 day supply of up to 16 different medications.
The system is a product of a start-up company sponsored by the University of Rochester. It could be on the market in the coming months.
