How Does WellCare Help Patients Adhere to Their Medications (Hint: It’s RxEffect)?

August 23, 2018

HOW RXEFFECT HELPS DOCTORS INCREASE OUR MEMBER’S MEDICATION ADHERENCE

“I now feel fine, so I’m going to stop taking this medication the doctor prescribed for me!”

 How often have we heard our friends or relatives say this – or maybe we’ve said it ourselves?

Unfortunately, many patients with serious existing medical conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol or hypertension stop taking their medications every day because they either aren’t acknowledging their symptoms or don’t understand their prescriptions.

So how can a doctor ensure patients with chronic conditions actually ‘take’ their medications correctly? Surely, making hundreds of house calls isn’t the answer.

To help doctors with this very issue WellCare has partnered with RxAnte to offer RxEffect, an online tool that analyzes patient pharmacy claims.

RxEffect allows doctors to access a real-time list of their patients and medications. The tool realizes that not all patients are the same. Some will always take their medications, some will take them off and on, and others will simply forget. RxEffect uses predictive analytics to help doctors pinpoint patients who are likely to need the most help.

This allows them to keep better track of their patient prescriptions and intervene before problems arise. RxEffect even alerts doctors to increase prescription lengths from 30 to 90 days to help patients eliminate the hassle of monthly refills.

In 2015, doctors who used RxEffect to track prescription adherence increased the likelihood that patients would take their medications as directed. At WellCare, it is our most effective intervention and we have seen adherence improvement of up to 8 percent in our highly engaged practices. This figure is impressive, as similar nationwide programs typically show less than a 2 percent increase in a given year.

WellCare always works to make sure our provider network has access to the tools that make it easier for people to get and stay healthy. It’s our responsibility to help doctors better educate our members on why, when and how to take their medications without fail. After all, their health depends on it.

 Dr. Laura Hungiville is WellCare’s chief pharmacy officer.

https://blog.wellcare.com/2018/08/23/how-does-wellcare-help-patients-adhere-to-their-medications-hint-its-rxeffect/