New research sponsored by CVS Caremark Corp. suggests that a patient’s social support network can be associated with improved medication adherence and that leveraging the presence of contacts such as family and friends to engage patients in the more practical aspects of obtaining medications (e.g., calling in a refill, picking them up on time) could be an effective way to boost compliance.
The study, “Association Between Different Types of Social Support and Medication Adherence,” was conducted by researchers at Harvard University, Brigham and Women's Hospital and CVS Caremark and was published in the December 2012 issue of the American Journal of Managed Care.
Niteesh K. Choudhry, M.D., Ph.D., an associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, explained the rationale for conducting the study. “The growing popularity of online social networking has raised the question of how social connectedness can impact a person’s health and whether it plays any role in improving medication adherence,” said Choudhry in today’s press release from CVS Caremark.
While the report isn’t suggesting that insurers and PBMs infiltrate a person’s Facebook profile to find the member a ride to the pharmacy, it actually made me think of times I’ve seen friends and family engage on Facebook to talk about their pharmacy issues. “Help! The cream my dermatologist prescribed me is going to cost $55 at the pharmacy! I can’t afford it.” I jump on: “What’s the cream? Can you ask the physician to call your doctor to prescribe a lower-cost alternative? Is there a generic?” And while I haven’t solicited rides to the pharmacy on Facebook to pick up a script, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility. So I think there is some merit to this idea.
How do you think insurers and PBMs can capitalize on the idea of engaging family and friends or the growing popularity of online social networking to boost members’ adherence?
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