Partnership Designed to Improve Medication Adherence Among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

A new partnership in which patients with type 2 diabetes will us a smartphone application to "check in" that they took their medication, has been announced by the University of Maryland Health Partners (UMHP) emocha Mobile Health, and Total Health Care.

Participants in the program will be paired with an emocha Adherence Coach who will review videos of the patients taking their medication, assess whether they took their medication as prescribed, and encourage them throughout treatment. The providers and clinical support team at Total Health Care will serve as a resource to their patients who are participating if they need additional support throughout the program.

The program launched by the Baltimore-based organizations is the first of its kind to leverage video technology and a public health practice known as Directly Observed Therapy, or DOT. DOT is a CDC-endorsed model of care that has been used by public health departments for decades to contain deadly infectious diseases. DOT is the only technique proven to consistently secure medication adherence rates greater than 90 percent.

The CDC has recognized emocha’s success in real-world settings. Additionally, peer-reviewed studieshave demonstrated that patients using emocha achieve 94 percent adherence rates on average. Multiple health departments using emocha have demonstrated similar adherence rates and significant cost savings.

In the United States, approximately half of medication is not taken properly, which leads to about $300 billion in avoidable costs every year. Often these costs are a result of emergency visits and hospitalizations caused by a patient’s condition worsening. Patients with type 2 diabetes take medications to control their blood sugar as measured in an A1C test. If their blood sugar is not in a safe range, it may lead to serious complications such as stroke, nerve damage, or kidney disease.

Patients who are interested in participating in the program should visit umhp.emocha.com to learn more.