Lifelines: How Personal Concierge Helps to Improve Medication Adherence

Even in the best of circumstances, with the most cohesive support and guidance, it can be hard for specific healthcare populations to maintain proper medication adherence. The World Health Organization reports that proper medication adherence can have a more significant impact on health outcomes than the treatment itself. In the meantime, non-adherence can account for up to 50 percent of treatment failures, around 125,000 deaths, and up to 25 percent of hospitalizations each year in the United States. The WHO also reports that, while 80 percent adherence is required for optimal health outcomes, rates in the United States are right around 50 percent.

While traditional barriers to medication adherence persist, including lack of affordability, mental health issues, lifestyle obstacles and fragmented communication, digital care and support resources such as the GoMo Health Personal Concierge™ programs have helped providers and their patients successfully navigate these obstacles to increase medication adherence rates when needed.

Personal Concierge is uniquely designed to convert complex clinical protocols into simple, step by step, snackable bites of digestible information to ensure higher patient compliance with remote care directives. It has proven to be a game-changing resource for those who are struggling with their medication regimens. The American Medical Association reports a variety of reasons, both logistical and emotional, that patients experience lapses in their medication, most of which Personal Concierge can directly engage, including:

Reinforcing Importance and Benefits

It’s common for patients with chronic and other types of illnesses to lose sight of their medications’ benefits if they’re not working right away. They don’t always see the value of prevention and assume that just because their meds are not immediately making them better, they’re useless. Personal Concierge reinforces the importance of prevention and helps participants see the benefits of proper adherence and continuation.

Education

Many patients are reluctant to rake medications because they’re unclear about the side effects and how they will interact with other meds. They often feel like they have to prioritize one medication over the other because they are uncertain and can’t always get ahold of their provider immediately. Personal Concierge offers vital and custom-tailored education on side effects and interactions.

Consistent Refill and Dosage Reminders

Forgetting to take and refill medications is one of the primary means through which people lapse in adherence. Through intuitive and customized logic, Personal Concierge can determine when it’s time for patients to renew their meds and also offer regular reminders at appropriate times of the day to take them. Additionally, it can provide everyday tips and resources to stay organized and on top of their required dosage.

Emotional Support

Other common reasons why people often go off or refuse to take their meds is because they’re either mistrustful of them or struggling with a mental health issue, such as depression, anxiety, or substance use disorder. Personal Concierge messaging engages participants in the moment by providing emotionally supportive insights to help them through their reluctance and guide them toward prudent and health-oriented decision-making. It also offers helpful resources for getting medications for low or discounted prices. Lack of affordability is one of the primary reasons why people don’t get their meds filled. Doing our best to address those concerns gives program participants a vital resource, while also letting them know they have an ally in their routine.

Providing the Highest Level of Support

More and more of our partners in the healthcare field are implementing personal concierge for medication adherence because they recognize how high the stakes are, and the potential risks to patients.