Healthera to launch medication adherence app, patient management platform

Healthera unveiled a health management platform, including a mobile app for patients and a patient management platform for physicians, geared toward medication adherence and proactive healthcare.

The Cambridge, U.K.-based company worked with patients pharmacies, pharmacy system providers and clinical commissioning groups--which organize the delivery of NHS services--to develop a platform to improve the management of repeat prescriptions, reduce waste, collect data on how patients take prescription medicines and to provide effective methods to improve drug adherence, according to a statement.

While more than 50% of the U.K.’s population is on prescriptions, only 16% of patients on a new drug take it as prescribed, have no problems and have access to the information they need, Healthera said in the statement. Almost one-third of patients no longer adhere 10 days into a new regimen and poor medicines management leads to more than £4 billion of medicine wastage for NHS England, Healthera said.

Healthera’s platform includes the Healthera app, which scans a QR-coded drug label and sets alarms reminding the patient to take the medication. Its “smart medicine diary” also automatically schedules pharmacy visits, analyzes medicine-taking patterns and records medicine-related concerns. Patients may share this diary with their pharmacist and physician, so their attention can be flagged when a patient is nonadherent.

The platform also includes the Healthera Pharmacy Suite, which enables pharmacists to engage directly with patients using the app, according to the statement. Because it gives them access to real-time data, pharmacists may offer advice on taking medication and answer non-urgent questions about medication. Finally, Smart Health, a patient prescription and adherence analytics platform, gives physicians access to their patients’ medicine schedule, adherence report and medical notes, saving time at their next visit.

Following successful product trials we are confident that Healthera is leading a new era of connected digital health by turning pharmacies into digital ‘personal healthcare hubs’ and empowering patients to make informed decisions about their medicine,” said Healthera CEO Quintus Liu, in the statement. The app and patient management platform will be available Sept. 25.