BALTIMORE, MD (February 4, 2020) — emocha, a company focused on medication adherence, today announced a partnership with LifeBridge Health, a nonprofit health system that operates several medical institutions in the Greater Baltimore, Maryland area. The program will bring video Directly Observed Therapy (video DOT) to pediatric asthma patients, as part of an effort to improve inhaler technique and adherence.
Patients who use emocha will submit daily check-in videos of themselves using their prescribed inhalers. In conjunction with daily engagement, emocha’s care team will review the videos and help participants with timely advice to solve medication-related problems, such as side effects, and support them at every dose for the entirety of the 60-day program.
“At LifeBridge Health, we believe in pioneering innovations that can enhance patient care,” says Scott Krugman, M.D., vice chair of pediatrics at the Herman & Walter Samuelson Children’s Hospital at Sinai. “We are eager to see how this technology-enabled service may be able to help children with asthma take their medications as prescribed and also have additional support throughout their treatment.”
Adherence rates among pediatric asthma patients are estimated at less than 50 percent. At approximately $3,600 per hospitalization, the rising costs of asthma can be mitigated by less frequent exacerbations, made possible through disease management and increased adherence to asthma inhaler therapy.
“We know that preventable asthma hospitalizations and ER visits are directly tied to non-adherence and poor inhaler technique,” says Sebastian Seiguer, CEO of emocha. “emocha’s video DOT solution helps patients and caregivers manage pediatric asthma and offers both partners in care a high-touch, high-engagement tool to improve outcomes.”
Because the majority of patients do not demonstrate effective inhaler technique — one of the principal reasons for the high prevalence of uncontrolled asthma — specifically solving medication technique as a barrier to adherence is a vital marker of improved outcomes. In addition to addressing behavioral factors that impact adherence, emocha’s video DOT solution identifies and addresses medication problems that range from incorrect dosage to improper drug administration, holistically addressing the multifaceted challenges to adherence.
Previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) among children with poorly controlled asthma. Results from one study demonstrated that all children who engaged in the intervention showed significant improvements in asthma management. Another study that evaluated a school-based DOT program for pediatric asthma found that participants experienced more symptom-free days, fewer activity limitations, fewer days absent from school, and fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits.
Because studies have confirmed that human engagement helps drive adherence, the emocha video DOT adherence solution includes support from a team of healthcare professionals who are proactive, results-oriented, and empowering. emocha’s professional support teams provide immediate feedback and advice according to patient submissions.
About emocha Mobile Health
emocha empowers patients to take every dose of medication through video technology and scalable human engagement. Patients use a smartphone application to report side effects, communicate with providers, and video record themselves taking medication at every dose. Providers or emocha’s clinician-led Adherence Solutions team use a secure web portal to assess adherence and engage with patients. The platform is being used by public health departments, hospitals, health centers, and managed care organizations across the globe to radically improve medication adherence for patients with diabetes, tuberculosis, opioid use disorder, asthma, COPD, hepatitis C, and other chronic and infectious diseases. Learn more at www.emocha.com.
About LifeBridge Health
As one of the largest and most comprehensive providers of health-related services to the Greater Baltimore Region, LifeBridge Health advocates preventive services, wellness and fitness services, and educational programs. LifeBridge Health consists of Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Northwest Hospital, Carroll Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Grace Medical Center and its subsidiaries and affiliated units, including LifeBridge Health & Fitness. Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital and Carroll Hospital are all acute-care general hospitals with complementary clinical centers of excellence. For more information, visit lifebridgehealth.org.
Contact:
Sarenka Smith | email: ssmith@emocha.com | phone: 443.525.0156
John F. Kouten | email: jfkouten@jfkhealth.com| phone: 609-241-7352
