Message #19 From:
NewsBot Date: December 11, 2007 02:03:19 PM
InforMedix Partners with Consumer Health Information Corporation
Companies to Create Customized Patient Medication Adherence Programs for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers
Improved Medication Adherence a Major Objective of the Pharmaceutical Industry
ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- InforMedix Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: IFMX, http://www.informedix.com), developer of the Med-ePhone(TM) System for medication and care plan adherence planned for release in early 2008, has partnered with Consumer Health Information Corporation (CHIC, http://www.consumer-health.com), an award-winning patient education agency with expertise in the development and implementation of customized patient adherence strategies. InforMedix and CHIC will combine their expertise to develop customized programs targeted to increase patient medication and care plan adherence.
Patient non-adherence has become a major public health problem in the United States. Patients are suffering and even dying when they forget to take their doses on time, do not understand how to take their medications correctly, do not know how to recognize and manage side effects, and/or decide to drop out of therapy without the consent of their physician. It is estimated that this lack of patient adherence to their prescribed medications costs the U.S. economy over $300 billion per year. It is also estimated that this problem accounts for between $30 and $50 billion in lost revenues per year to the pharmaceutical industry.
It is expected that InforMedix and CHIC will work with pharmaceutical company brand teams to develop customized, comprehensive patient adherence programs. These unique, state-of-the-art programs will be tailored to support new drug launches, brand extension campaigns, comprehensive medication adherence programs, clinical trials, and prescription drug awareness programs for consumers.
"We are looking forward to working with InforMedix to add a novel medication adherence technology to our patient education programs," said Dr. Dorothy L. Smith, Founder and President of CHIC. "We know how to develop programs that patients will understand and we know how to motivate patients to stay in therapy. What we can't do -- and neither can health professionals -- is work with patients on a daily basis to remind them when to take each dose or help patients and their caregivers stay in better touch with their doctors and caregivers each time they have a problem taking a dose. The InforMedix technology will help patients handle the day-to-day problems they routinely encounter taking medications in the home environment. I also believe that the program will help children of elderly parents stay in better touch and give them peace of mind that their parents took their medication at the right times each day. "
"We are honored to work with CHIC, given their longstanding and award-winning commitment to medication safety and education," said Bruce A. Kehr, MD, CEO of InforMedix. "Dr.Smith is an internationally recognized author, patient advocate, and expert in patient education, patient adherence, and behavior modification programs. Her professional career has been devoted to developing successful programs for patients, employees, and consumers, on behalf of pharmaceutical and other Fortune 500 companies. We believe that CHIC's expertise will greatly enhance our product offering."
InforMedix will provide the technology component of the programs with its forthcoming Med-ePhone, which is being designed to deliver customized reminders to take medication doses via a landline or cell phone. This unique system will also provide patient confirmation that they have taken or are about to take their medication at a specific time, along with patient answers to health status questions. This will allow for immediate feedback to caregivers and/or the healthcare team if critical medications are missed or patient responses to health assessments indicates a declining health status. CHIC will work with InforMedix to customize the Med-ePhone patient messages for a pharmaceutical company's specific brand so that they reinforce the overall patient information being delivered in the print and website programs.
Pharmaceutical companies will have the potential to recapture the tremendous loss of sales because of patients not taking all their medications as prescribed and dropping out of therapy during the initial few months of a new medication being prescribed. An investment by pharmaceutical companies in a comprehensive medication adherence program has the potential to deliver an impressive Return on Investment (ROI) because the combination of patient information that the average patient can understand in conjunction with day-to-day reminders will help motivate patients to stay in therapy. The plan is that these customized programs will increase the ROI for the substantial budgets the pharmaceutical companies currently spend on capturing new prescriptions.
Improving patient medication adherence is a major strategic objective of pharmaceutical manufacturers. By combining their areas of expertise, InforMedix and CHIC believe that they will help pharmaceutical companies improve medication adherence resulting in improved patient outcomes and increased product revenues.
About InforMedix, Inc.
InforMedix, Inc., based in Rockville, Maryland, has developed the Med-eMonitor System as The Medication Adherence Solution for consumer product and disease management markets, to deliver peace-of-mind, improved independent living, and better health outcomes to patients and their loved ones. The Med-eMonitor System ("Medication, Safe and Easy"(TM)) integrates a portable patient-interactive "smart pillbox," hardware, software, and call center monitoring. This is designed to enable chronically ill patients and their loved ones, professionals in disease management programs, and medical researchers to efficiently monitor and manage patients' medication and care plan adherence, clinical response, and drug safety. Six of InforMedix's fifteen issued patents disclose the use of voice technology to improve medication adherence. For more information, visit http://www.InforMedix.com.
About Consumer Health Information Corporation
Consumer Health Information Corporation was founded in 1983 and is internationally recognized for its innovative patient education and consumer awareness programs on medication use and disease management. The company has produced a broad range of award-winning programs that have helped millions of people learn to make wise decisions about their health and medications. Clients include pharmaceutical companies, Fortune 500 companies, national health associations, managed care organizations, insurance companies and pharmacies. Dr. Dorothy Smith, President and Founder, is recognized as a leader in patient adherence and has written twenty-three books for consumers and health professionals on how to take medications correctly. Dr. Smith is a strong patient advocate and has appeared on hundreds of television and radio programs to help increase consumer awareness of their important role in prescription drug therapy. She has served on several national boards and delivered more than 150 addresses to professional, regulatory, government and consumer audiences in the United States, Canada and Europe on healthy literacy, patient compliance and how to develop effective patient education programs so that patients will learn to manage their drug therapies and receive the full benefit of the prescribed treatments.
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