MEDICATION ADHERENCE IS NOT A $300 BILLION PROBLEM

(Change my Mind)

Medication adherence holds a soft spot for me, likely due to my professional background as a pharmacist. I cannot tell you how often medication adherence comes up daily when addressing patient care. Even in the home healthcare setting, we have multiple nurses that are dedicated to visiting and administering medications to patients (usually those with a psych history or SUD or related comorbidities that impede medication use). I love the idea of technology aiding in medication adherence, and if you follow my work, you know that I have been reviewing apps and devices for almost a decade now. Nonetheless, I cannot but help notice a trend that is, I believe, really cutting out pharmacists from the medication "adherence" disruption space.

Heres the problem: Medication adherence is not a $300 Billion problem, and that may shock you. After all, almost every company website I visit discusses how they will transform healthcare with their solution/product by focusing on their intervention will reduce the cost of adherence in the US. And I cannot help but think this narrative is killing the pharmacy profession because it opens up a very different tale to the actual problem that is favorable to only a few people.

TIMOTHY AUNGST NOVEMBER 1, 2019

LINK: 

https://www.thedigitalapothecary.com/pharmacy-innovation-news/2019/11/1/medication-adherence-is-not-a-300-billion-problem