I try to see both side of this coin and yes having reminders and helpers is not a bad thing at all, it’s just the data side with privacy issues that seem to be the bug here as health insurance companies provide “behavioral underwriting” today to analyze every small item on your agenda. Companies like Ingenix and Milliman make millions every year on “selling” your medication data. Anytime today it seems when you participate in some of these areas, like coupons too, you might be increasing your data value, not for you but for what someone else can sell and purchase your information for.
The financial rewards paid to the patient could easily be a portion of the money they make selling your data.
This device is also connected to your pharmacy too, so you get a product that helps you remember when to take your pills, but the other side of the coin is that you create more medication data about yourself that can be bought and sold for profit as this information does not fall under HIPAA. I wrote about this in another post below and when participating it’s your choice to share or not to share and it allows profiteering from your data that we pay for in either our premium payments or in other areas of care. Someone has to pay the bill and the company for their technology and if you begin to think that it is totally funded by the companies, think again as it all rallies right back to the consumer in one form or another as business always figures a way to cover their cost.
The Colbert Report Takes On Vitality GlowCaps (Video) – Check Out the Privacy Issues Here As Medication Data is Created That Can Be Sold To Health Insurance Companies For Use With Underwriting Algorithms
Here are 2 companies that sell prescription data and profiling information. BD
“HIPAA does not give the Department of Health and Human Services the ability to directly investigate or hold accountable entities, such as pharmacy benefit managers or companies such as Ingenix and Milliman, who are not covered by HIPAA.”
The Pill Bottle That Talks To Your Cell Phone, Creates Data Reports and More…
Reminders = Data = Reports
Medical Device = Algorithms = Medical Data = Data Reports = PHR = EHR = _____.
BOSTON – The Center for Connected Health, a division of Partners Healthcare, announced Wednesday encouraging initial findings from a medication adherence study, using a wireless electronic pill bottle to remind patients with high blood pressure to take their medication.
The ongoing study measured a 27 percent higher rate of medication adherence in patients using Internet connected medication packaging and feedback services compared to controls.
In total, 139 patients diagnosed with hypertension and taking an anti-hypertensive medication were enrolled in a six month study starting in August 2009. Participants were required to have Internet access and an e-mail account to receive reports. Each participant was randomized into one of three groups: Those in the control group did not receive any communication or GlowCap services, while the intervention group received visual and audio reminders from the GlowCap as well as missed dose reminder phone calls, medication refill reminders and progress reports e-mailed to the patient, family member and/or primary care provider.
Participants in an intervention-plus group additionally received a financial incentive if they exceeded a monthly adherence goal of 80 percent.
"GlowCaps use real-time feedback loops to act on a number of behavioral motivators: reminders, doctor accountability, social support and help with refills," said David Rose, CEO of Vitality. "These are instructive findings for pharmaceutical manufacturers and payors who have a vested interest in improving patient outcomes with their products and services."
Study shows promise for electronic pill bottle | Healthcare IT News
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