Optimizing the Safety and Efficacy of Opioid Therapy

Opioid therapy can be hard to manage. Real-time adherence data can help identify poor adherence in patients, thus improving a healthcare provider's ability to discern between likely abuse and poor treatment efficacy. Moreover, the MedicaSafe approach gathers empirically valid assessment information from patients between visits to the physician, and without requiring any time or effort from the physician's staff.

Curbing Prescription Abuse

It is broadly recognized that prescription drug misuse is a major medical problem, accounting for one-third of drug abuse in the United States and costing more than $8.6 billion annually. Furthermore, prescription drug addiction is a legal liability concern. Specialty pain clinics have reported up to 17% abuse rates for opioids, a retrospective study of primary care documented misuse rates of 24%, and a detailed 2006 prospective study found much higher rates of abuse for patients with risk factors such as prior drug or alcohol abuse.

Striking the Right Balance

Meanwhile, patients need effective pain management. The MedicaSafe approach offers a treatment tool that balances societal concerns about abuse and addiction with medical desires to improve quality of life and patient outcomes.

Addressing Stakeholder Concerns

Benefits of MedicaSafe Approach

• Easing Patient Concerns

Patients voice concern about taking pain medications and exhibit reluctance to follow treatment regimens. Surveys indicate that 40% of people suffering from chronic pain do not achieve adequate relief. If not managed, chronic pain produces unnecessary suffering, stress, lost productivity, and increased healthcare costs. MedicaSafe's approach offers a sense of supervision and control that may ease patient concerns and improve outcomes.

• Controlling At-Risk Patients

Certain patients are at extremely high risk for misuse of pain medications. Characteristics cited as strongly indicative of future abuse include past abuse of pharmacological products, illicit drugs, or alcohol abuse.

• Tracking and Improving Outcomes

DialogMeds check-ins enable the tracking of outcomes and correlation of outcomes, and the ability to track and analyze empirical outcomes data, then optimize disease management techniques for better outcomes.