The FDA has approved the first pill to have an embedded sensor that reports whether patients have taken it, ushering in a new era of smart pharmaceuticals. With this treatment, called Abilify MyCite, doctors can know first-hand if their patients are adhering to the prescription. The drug is a product of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., while the sensor technology comes from Proteus Digital Health. Although Abilify has been around since it was approved in 2002 for the treatment of schizophrenia, the approval of such a digital pill-technology combo opens up a wide range of possibilities, even as pills continue to affect more lives each day. According to a 2015 study published in JAMA, the percentage of adults taking five or more prescription …show more content…
After a few minutes, the signal is detected by a patch that is worn on the left rib cage like a band-aid and must be replaced every seven days. The date and time of pill ingestion, as well as the patient’s level of activity, are then sent to a smartphone via Bluetooth. A mobile app allows one to add their mood and resting hours before transmitting the information to a database that physicians and others who have permission from the patient can access. The app also allows patients to block or add recipients whenever they want. Though the technology is only available for the drug Abilify, it has many potential uses. For one, it could be used to monitor opioid consumption in post-surgical patients or to determine whether participants in clinical trials took the drugs being tested. What’s more, insurers might eventually offer incentives to patients who use them, such as discounts on copayments, says Dr. Eric Topol, the director of Scripps Translational Science Institute. He warned that ethical issues could arise should the technology be “incentivized so much that it appeared to be coercion.” One more situation that might be requiring patients to take digital medication is as a condition for parole or getting released from psychiatric facilities. Meanwhile, another technology – AiCure – has already had success with tuberculosis patients at the Los Angeles County Health Department as well as in Illinois, according to
First implemented in 1985 by Aetna (previously U.S. Healthcare), P4P programs were used to reward top performers and improve outcomes (Bruno, 2012). The incentives were meant to improve the quality of patient care by basing incentives on patient outcomes. Conversely, fee-for-service reimbursements are based on the treatments and set limits on the amount reimbursed for services. Because of these limits, incentives for use of pharmaceuticals and non-invasive procedures can impact how physicians practice.
Some of the current changes that can be seen in regards to prescription privileges include changes in the ways that physicians and mental health professionals are able to prescribe medications to their patients. According to Brenda Smith of the APA (2012), currently patients receive their medications for psychological conditions by a physician usually without having been evaluated by a mental health practitioner according to the CDC. The trend includes individuals to visit their general health practitioners in order to receive psychotropic medications such as antidepressants and anxiolytics. The problem with individuals receiving these medications from other sources include: deterrence
American beliefs and values favor the development and use of new medical technology despite its cost.
The MediMinder also comes with a complimentary app that can be used with any hand held device that will alert family members when medication has not been taken when scheduled promoting peace of mind. The app will also send refill alerts and allows the dispenser to be unlocked remotely in the event the key is misplaced. The MediMinder contains a vast number of different programmable options so that medications can be dispensed at multiple times per day if needed, which is an option unavailable with any other competitor’s unit. It is also designed to be space-saving in size while offering a wide variety of decorative options to compliment any setting. The MediMinder supports company G’s mission statement beautifully by improving the life of its customers through electronic innovation, cost effectiveness and convenience.
This article gives detail on the the American Pit Bull Terrier such as the history, temperament, physical characteristics and personality. The article is broken down into sections such as to help you better understand the breed. It also highlights on awards and AKC certifications. The article is relevant because it gi
to enable access to prescription information by practitioners, law enforcement agents, and other authorized individuals and agencies
Barcode verification, protocol dosages, ScanEvent tracking, remote dose inspection and approval, automated label sorting and routing are all features that help organization to the pharmacy. Something I found very interesting is that this allows automated documentation of clinical drugs. This is important to clinical studies because it enables an easy access to how much drug is used and the effects of each
Health information technology or HIT is a huge part of the dashing changes in how medications are prescribed, dispensed, and administered by using technologies electronic devices to share and manage patient information, instead of doing it the old fashion way which was over the phone, having all patients’ records and files on paper, and using the old fax method. Everything is computerized, from managing the
This program creates the standards of reporting requirements, incentive payments, and penalties that can occur for eligible providers and hospitals that seek the same goal of achieving meaningful use of EHRs (Henricks, 2011). Organizations who are participating providers in the Medicare and Medicaid programs are eligible to take part in this program. If participating in both Medicare and Medicaid, an organization must only choose one route in which they will receive their payment and has the option of switching programs once before 2015 after attestation is complete (Chin & Sakuda, 2012). Within the Medicare incentive program, healthcare professionals range from dental surgery, podiatry, optometry, or chiropractic care. Eligible professionals receive an incentive up to $44,000 over the course of five years with participation starting in 2012 (Chin & Sakuda, 2012). Additionally, eligible Medicaid providers can receive two-thirds of their maximum amount ($42, 500) and $63,750 for pediatricians over a six-year period. In the coming years, if organizations have not demonstrated that they have used their technologies in a meaningful way, the payments will decrease, and a 1% percentage drop each year it
To date more than ever, policy decision makers in healthcare systems are concerned with the way to adequately handle uncertainty surrounding health technology coverage, without penalizing healthcare providers and patients. A number of policy mechanisms to deal with this issue are available, with different ways of execution. These mechanisms have been purported to improve and hasten the reimbursement process of promising health technologies for which evidence is limited. These policy options have been adopted in different jurisdictions, with varying degrees of success. The literature addressing these mechanisms is growing and it may be difficult for interested readers to navigate through it. In this chapter, only one type of these reimbursement
Technology is the key to the future of health care and the world. Technology is doubling every few years and with these advancements of modern medicine, many lives will be saved. Our book explains one of these emerging technology advancements, Telecare. Telecare is “the remote delivery of healthcare services into the person’s home facilitated by communication technologies that include the use of person-centered reactive monitoring devices.”(Hebda & Czar, 2013, p. 506) This advancement in healthcare will allow patients who are house bound receive the care they deserve. In addition to telecare, electronic aspirin is another emerging technology.
The Medi-Can Medicine Dispenser & Alarm can help the user to take the correct amount of their medication at the correct time. The Medi-Can is a hexagon-shaped container that can hold up to 12 different pills in labeled containers. The Medi-Can container is made out of plastic with 12 dials, 12 screens, and 1 tray with a weight sensor. There is a specific dial on each container holding a certain pill. The user can set a dial to the time period at which they need to take their medication. The user can also select the amount of each medication that needs to be taken on the digital screen below each dial. The Medi-Can will dispense the user’s medication into the tray when it is time for the certain medication to be taken. An alarm will sound when
In 1955, antipsychotic medications were introduced to help mental disorders. These medications are usually taken orally in which help relieve symptoms for periods of days. The misuse or abuse of the medications are low. There are three generations of antipsychotic medications. The first generation is known for reducing hallucinations and delusions, but not affecting problems like disorientation or depression. An example would be chlorpromazine, brand name being Thorazine. Some negative side effects of taking the first generation drugs are Parkinson’s-like symptoms, tardive dyskinesia, and weight gain. Next, the second generation drugs minimized the outcome of the individual getting Parkinson’s-like symptoms. An example of this generation would be Clozaril. “A unique feature of Clozaril is the 1 to 2 percent chance of developing a potentially lethal blood disease called agranulocytosis” (Levinthal 282). This disease decreases white blood cells and affects the immune system. If early signs of this disease start to appear the patient will stop taking Clozaril and recover. Lastly, the third generation has shown to be the most effective on schizophrenia. Abilify is an example of this generation drug. It does not have a risk of Parkinson’s, tardive dyskinesia, or diabetes. Abilify blocks specific serotonin receptors in which prevents negative side effects from happening. These different
There have been inventions that have given hope and inspiration to others. Everyone values medicine and the technology that we currently have. But how far is too far? Medical technology is very economically risky and those that can’t afford it may struggle. Do you think this technology should be open to anyone, whether they are rich or poor? “We have shown through research that providing additional support to vulnerable patients and to their physicians, to provide education, support, and address the unique barriers they face, we can provide all patients the best care and best hope for a cure.” (Freund, 2015). Karen Freund is also one of the research professors that has a lot of experience as well as her interest in
The third positive point that I would make is that this program allows for physicians to monitor controlled substances better. This system is being used worldwide, so physicians are able to pull up all records of past prescriptions to make sure that their patient isn’t being over-prescribed. This system will essentially help cut back on the amount of people who are seeing different physicians in order to be prescribed an abundance amount of controlled substances. The next positive point that I would make is that it will reduce the amount of lost prescriptions. Since the prescription is made through a system on the internet, instead of on paper, the prescription is sent directly to the pharmacy to be filled. The last positive point that I would make towards e-Prescribing is that the physician will have instant access to notifications of clinical alerts. By this I mean that physicians will have full access of their patients documented allergies and previously prescribed drugs. If a physician tries to prescribe a new drug that could potentially cause negative reactions with this patient’s past medications, allergies, etc… an alert would be brought to attention on the