Ashfield Engage, part of UDG Healthcare, has partnered with Popit, a digital health company, to improve patient adherence in oral solid dosage (OSD) treatments and advance supplemental personalized patient support.
 
The collaboration brings together Popit’s novel monitoring technology, and Ashfield Engage’s patient support programs, to proactively respond to patients’ needs and tailor their reminders accordingly.
 
The Popit Sense device is attached to a pill sheet and uses patented technology to monitor missed doses and send alerts to patients via a smartphone app. The data is also transmitted to healthcare providers and support partners such as Ashfield Engage. Now enriched with this real-time data, Ashfield Engage can easily identify which patients require extra support.
 
As well as providing support through the app, Ashfield Engage will leverage its expert call center teams to reach out to patients to discuss any challenges with their medication.
 
“Prior to Popit’s technology, a large group of OSD patients were not getting the support they needed,” said Ian Riches, global vice president, patient solutions, Ashfield Engage. “While the majority of patients are adherent, those with a need for support can now be quickly identified and we can engage with them in a way that was previously not possible, which is really exciting.
 
“While typically patient data is only collected up to the point of prescription, we can now support patients throughout their treatment in real-time. By partnering with Popit we have a digital solution that enables rapid, personalized support to increase patient adherence and significantly improve patients’ health and wellbeing in the long term.”
 
Popit Sense technology is already being leveraged by many large pharmaceutical organizations, including Pfizer, Almirall and Novartis.
 
Timo Heikkilä, chief operating officer and co-founder of Popit, said, “Our solution provides a wealth of invaluable data for healthcare providers, and pharmaceutical organizations and we have seen excellent results following its adoption.
 
“By partnering with Ashfield Engage, we can now advance that service, and provide not only the data, but the direct follow up support to those patients in need. We are thrilled about this collaboration and look forward to supporting the large patient population reliant on OSD treatments. We see this as a really important step towards building better, more connected healthcare solutions that truly benefit patients’ health.”