Surescripts Addresses Medication Adherence Issues That Impact the Health Outcomes of Millions of Americans and Cost Billions of Dollars Each Year

ARLINGTON, Va. – November 29, 2016 – Surescripts is expanding its medication management services to help providers address problems with a patient’s adherence to their medication regimen—a dangerous and costly issue for both patients and the healthcare system as a whole. Surescripts’ Medication Management for Adherence solution delivers real-time messages and alerts directly into the provider’s electronic health records (EHR) software during the patient visit. Now, more than 6,300 care providers using software from Agastha, Aprima Medical Software, MedConnect, and PrognoCIS will have near real-time data and insights about how a patient is doing on his or her medication regimen, enabling more meaningful provider-patient interactions.

“Medication non-adherence takes a huge toll on the patient’s wellbeing, as well as the cost of care. But physicians can only address the issue if they are armed with the correct information when it matters most–during the patient’s visit,” said Tom Skelton, Chief Executive Officer of Surescripts. “Our network’s unrivaled connectivity revolutionizes the use of valuable insights from payers, combined with innovative EHR technologies that enhance patient outcomes, giving physicians a digital snapshot of whether or not their patients are adhering to their medication, so that they can intervene when needed.”

Surescripts’ Medication Management for Adherence solution provides closed-loop feedback and collaboration between care providers and payers, and is optimized in their EHR workflow for the physician to use during the patient visit. The solution intelligently manages adherence messages by discarding expired content or messages that have been resolved, so care providers see only relevant content that requires their attention.

“Our providers are always looking for ways to improve patient care by having better information available when they need it,” said Neil Simon, chief operating officer of Aprima. “With Surescripts’ Medication Management for Adherence and Aprima’s integration, we are able to provide that information without any additional effort on the provider’s part, and we are proud to be leading the industry in this effort.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls medication non-adherence a national epidemic, costing the nation’s healthcare system $300 billion annually¹. Fifty percent of patients never take their medication as prescribed,² which can negatively impact health outcomes and increase healthcare costs.

“Medication adherence is vital to helping providers improve patient care, especially those with chronic conditions. The direct integration of Surescripts’ Medication Management within the MedConnect product suite ensures providers can easily access this information,” explained Jimmy Chapman, President and CEO of MedConnect. “Our company is honored to be among the early adopters to connect with Surescripts to integrate this valuable service, and physician feedback has already been overwhelmingly positive.”

Physician practices or health systems interested in learning more about Medication Management for Adherence can visit www.surescripts.com/MedicationAdherence to learn more.

¹ Thinking Outside the Pillbox: A System-wide Approach to Improving Patient Medication Adherence for Chronic Disease. NEHI (August 2009)

² Enhancing Prescription Medicine Adherence: A National Action Plan. National Council on Patient Information and Education (August 2007)