About Us

About Our Company

We are here because we hold a passion for healthcare and empowering individuals to take the lead role in deciding their care. Starting with a concept and prototype for a student competition at Mohawk College, Apps For Health opened the door to our entrance into this space and we have been looking forward ever since.

The Need for SmartMED

Adherence to therapies is a worldwide issue when dealing with chronic diseases. Poor adherence to therapies, including medication, compromises the ability for treatment to be effective. This proves to seriously inhibit the quality of life experienced by an individual ^[2]. A Cochrane Review reported that typically 40% to 60% of patients do not adhere properly to their prescribed medications ^[3]. Furthermore, 4% to 35% of patients misuse their medications to the point of posing serious effects to their health. Fiscally speaking, medication adherence was associated with 62% lower costs for hospital admissions. Avoidance of noncompliance is capable of a 45% reduction in visits to emergency departments^[1].

Adherence may be improved by the addition of "soft interventions", which could lead to better health outcomes. Studies show that technical solutions have been effective in reducing non-adherence with patients ^[4]. Technical solutions have the ability to be multifaceted and can approach patients on different levels within the same program.

This app allows users to take more responsibility for their health care and provides clinicians with valuable information regarding their patients' prescription adherence. This app also has the ability to aid researchers in managing large group clinical trials or collecting aggregate data on prescription adherence. This could lead to better health outcomes in the future, creating a more beneficial relationship between patients and clinicians.

This app aims to help decrease medication non-adherence, which will lead to less strain on the health care system and the individual. The app will allow users to create a record of their habits and adherence, and use the information as a tool to identify obstacles or issues that may contribute to non-adherence. This app is an intervention tool that is self-supplied, thereby aiding in the promotion of healing and health management.

In addition, the application tracks individual data that can be aggregated and collected by health care providers and researchers for larger studies. Compliance rates and patient adherence data can be used to identify gaps in the care plan, to extrapolate trends, to extend care to the home, and to better serve patients and clinicians.

Reference:

1. Health Infoway (2010). National impact of generation 2 drug information systems technical report.
2. World Health Organization, (2003). Adherence to long-term therapies: Evidence for action.
3. World Health Organization: Switzerland. Mahtani KR, Heneghan CJ, Glasziou PP, & Perera R, (2011). Reminder packaging for improving adherence to self-ad- ministered long-term medications.
4. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD005025. DOI:10.1002/14651858.CD005025. pub3. Van Dulmen, S., Sluijs, E., Van Dijk, L., De Ridder, D., Heerdink, R., & Bensing, J. (2007). Patient adherence to medical treatment: a review of reviews BMC Health Services Research, 7(55),1-7.