Market Q & A: Medication Management

Pill Pouch

Kathi Sitek, Founder and Inventor www.pillpouch.net Tell us about what your product offers in terms of medication management. SITEK: Pill Pouch is a medication adherence tool. It helps elderly patients and their caregivers to develop a relationship with the medication so they can take it as prescribed. The Pill Pouch is a visual medication list that is used as a daily reference to set up a pillbox or guide taking daily dosages correctly. It is also great for routine doctor visits to present a complete list of medications. What medication management challenges do providers and consumers face, and how do your products help them overcome these challenges? SITEK: Generics are always changing, and many patients are on too many medications to keep up with. The Pill Pouch is easy to update without having to write a whole new list of medications. Having all medications in one quick reference for medical professionals makes it easier for doctors and nurses to see what is prescribed by others and see potential interactions. Also, adhering to medication as prescribed can lower a patient's total cost of health care. What is one change your company is making this year? SITEK: We are making a bigger Pill Pouch that holds up to 16 unique medications. What changes have you seen in the medication management market in the last five years, and what changes do you expect to see in the future? SITEK: A move to digital and automated reminders. We believe that we will continue to see the marriage of digital with HMEs to help users better adhere, collect data and deliver personalized, timely feedback and alerts.

Compass Health

Kelsie Tidman Product Marketing Manager www.compasshealthbrands.com What products does your company offer in the medication management space? TIDMAN: Apex pill organizers are tailored to fit any medication regiment including various sized daily, 7-day, AM/PM and weekly planners. Every aspect of an Apex product keeps the caretaker and patient in mind. Lids are designed to be clear, easy to read and easy to open, all the while ensuring they stay securely shut to maintain pill security. Each daily compartment is molded to facilitate easy pill removal from organizers. The variety of pill organizer sizes ensures adequate space for any individual’s medication or vitamin regiment. Our products come in a variety of colors to make medication management personalized and trendy. Apex also has a strong focus on producing products in the United States whenever possible to support American jobs and businesses. Tell us about one change your company is making this year. TIDMAN: Apex recently launched a new line of pill organizers with decorative sleeves. The decorative sleeves take six of our best-selling medication compliance items and couples them with a fabric print sleeve to add style and security. Apex currently offers four fabric prints. How do your medication management products help HME and other health care providers meet industry challenges? TIDMAN: The starting point for an HME provider’s success is to ensure that there is a full medication management product offering in their stores. This includes not only pill organizers, but splitters, crushers, health aids and oral medication devices. Once a consumer is in front of the product, customer education and product knowledge is crucial. Apex retail packaging is designed to clearly and effectively educate the consumer about the product, its purpose and function. This allows the consumer to make an educated choice that fits their needs. In addition to informative retail packaging, there has been a greater push for in-store shelf education. Educational signage helps guide a customer through the store set and understand what product will best fit their needs. What changes are you seeing in the medication management market? TIDMAN: Technological advances are intended to make an individual’s life safer, more manageable and more efficient. The movement for new technologies also prompts a faster response to new market trends and styles. Apex has introduced new items with more on-trend colors, styles and functions without sacrificing the consumer’s familiarity with a functioning and easy-to-manage pill organizer. Apex has seen a variety of product innovations while still maintaining quality and affordability. There are new push-to-open pill organizers with compartments that open with just the push of a finger. Lids on new pill organizers are designed and contoured to allow greater pill capacity per compartment. Our new products also focus on having a smaller footprint while maintaining a high pill capacity.

ClotMD

Michael Kutsak CEO of BBMK Technologies www.clotmd.com How does your company help patients with medication management? KUTSAK: ClotMD is a cloud-based software and mobile application that enables real-time management of patients on warfarin. With ClotMD, health care providers can easily manage patients both in-office and patients that are self-testing at home while managing medication adherence. Management of anticoagulation is made simple with ClotMD through real-time dosing instructions, medication reminders and dosage change notifications while improving patient outcomes. What challenges do providers and consumers face, and how does your product address those challenges? KUTSAK: Patients taking warfarin require ongoing monitoring of their INR values, which is the clinical indication of their therapeutic range. The dosing of warfarin is directly correlated to these INR values and may require ongoing dosing titration. With ClotMD, treatment outcomes can be managed real time. It allows clinicians to make prompt medication changes while engaging patients with new dosing instructions sent through the mobile app or the web-based profile. Through ClotMD, managing medication adherence is made simple with medication reminders. The patient can acknowledge daily medication administration as well as confirming being informed of dosage changes. In the event the patient misses or doesn’t acknowledge their medication acceptance for the day an event is created, that allows the health care provider to interact through a direct message or alternative action with the patient. What is one change you plan to make in 2017? KUTSAK: We are designing simple, user friendly and responsive workflows to engage patients, increase adherence to therapy, and incorporate automated algorithms that are driven by health care providers. With this fresh outlook on the anticoagulation patient population, we aim to simplify the patient care process while improving outcomes and reducing wasted resources. What changes have you seen in the medication management market in the last five years, and what changes do you expect to see in the future? KUTSAK: As the population continues to age, the number of tech-friendly consumers increases. This enables applications such as ClotMD to engage with a broader patient population that can use smartphone applications and computers to better engage in their health. Through innovative solutions such as ClotMD, patients can have a hands-on approach to their care while improving clinical outcomes.