Pharmacy Times | November 2, 2018

Digital Health and medication adherence seem to be a match made in Heaven, and yet we still have no solid company that has stepped up with a one-size fits all solution. I would argue that there really is no such platform, but rather instances where a patient with difficulty taking their medication may benefit from a multifaceted approach using different systems. Maybe a patient has trouble organizing their drugs and just needs a compliance packaging service, but if they have trouble remembering, they could utilize a reminder service.
With that being the case, I set out to profile all the companies that I know of in the digital health space with medication adherence solutions as one of their main areas of interventions. In all, I identified more than 50 companies that are working to improve patient outcomes through technology solutions. Each company is entered into a category based on what global service they provided, broken down as follows:

Virtually Observed Therapy—Essentially 3 companies are disrupting the traditional directly observed therapy market using cameras on the smartphone to track when a patient takes their medication.

  • AiCure
  • Emocha Mobile Health
  • sureAdhere

Bioingestible Sensors—What if you knew when a patient took their medication based on when it dissolved in the stomach? Well, 2 companies are creating such sensors, and the first such pill was approved in 2017.

  • Proteus Digital Health
  • EtectRx

Smart Pill Bottles—Nine companies produce sensors that are embedded in a proprietary bottle or cap that fits on top of a pill bottle. These sensors keep track when a medication is removed.

  • AdhereTech
  • Vitality Glowcap
  • Pillsy
  • TimerCap iCap
  • Medikyu
  • DoseSmart
  • Intent Solutions TAD
  • Robrady
  • Nomi

Smart Pill Organizers—These 16 companies are making devices that help a patient organize and remember to take their medication.

  • TowerView Health
  • MedMinder
  • Vaica
  • MedSentry
  • PillDrill
  • CuePath Innovation
  • Hero Health
  • Karie Health
  • Livi
  • my-uBox
  • PillPresso
  • Tricella
  • MediAlarm
  • Ellie
  • TinyLogics

Home Assistant—What if Alexa and a pillbox had a baby? Well, then you’d get these 4 companies who are taking it to the next level.

  • Pillo
  • Catalia Health
  • Spencer Health Solutions
  • MediPENSE

Patient Reward Platforms—Maybe all we need to do is pay patients to take their drugs…or in other words behavioral economics. These companies are using mobile apps to help encourage patients to take their medications with some reward system in place.

  • Wellth
  • Sempre Health
  • HealthPrize
  • Mango Health
  • Perx

Smart Injectable Devices—Focused primarily on diabetes, these 6 companies added a sensor to keep track of how much insulin a patient is using.

  • Insulog
  • Companion Medical
  • Gocap
  • SmartPlus
  • DiabNext
  • Emperra

Smart Inhalers—Is a patient with asthma using a rescue inhaler too often? Well, instead of waiting until they need help, it is now possible to monitor inhaler use with these new sensors made by 5 companies. We may see this become an industry standard in the future.

  • Adhererium
  • Propeller Health
  • Cohero Health
  • CONNECT’INH
  • CareTRx
  • Popit
  • Aavia

Oral Birth Control (OBC) Reminders—Not just an app, but a device that works with OBC blister packaging to remind patients to take their medication. Two companies are providing this innovation.

Published at The Digital Apothecary, this guide includes information about each company, including background on each invention, whether there is published research to support the product, and targeted therapeutic areas if any.
Original Article