Wireless M2M pill bottles to improve prescription adherence, cut deaths and healthcare costs

(Alpharetta, Georgia, USA. Business Wire) — AdhereTech has selected the KORE Network to wirelessly enable its medication bottles. KORE’s machine-to-machine (M2M) network will provide cellular connectivity so that AdhereTech can remotely monitor and automatically alert patients on their adherence to prescribed medication.

In a December 2012 report, The Annals of Internal Medicine cited the lack of medication adherence as the estimated cause of 125,000 deaths in the US alone. It was also cited as the reason for at least 10% of hospitalisations and a cost of between US$100 billion to $289 billion annually to the US healthcare system. AdhereTech says that M2M connectivity between wireless pill bottles and its servers will help patients, physicians and the pharmaceutical industry ensure medication compliance.

“We require a wireless connectivity partner that provides cost-effective, reliable cellular coverage and understands the nuances of our business,” said Josh Stein, co-founder and CEO, AdhereTech. “Following a rigorous review process, including multiple conversations with current KORE partners, we selected the KORE network as the communications backbone of our new wireless pill bottle. KORE understands what it takes to securely deliver wireless data and will help us optimize our M2M solution to help improve medication adherence and reduce healthcare costs.”

The innovative AdhereTech smart pill bottle comes pre-configured to send regular alerts, enabling AdhereTech to communicate the appropriate HIPAA-compliant medication updates to patients and healthcare professionals. By wirelessly transmitting real-time data, such as when the patient last used the bottle and how many pills were removed, the AdhereTech solution helps patients take the right medication at the right time. The pill bottle data is securely transmitted to the cloud via the KORE network where the AdhereTech application automatically sends medication reminder alerts to the patient via the bottle’s blinking lights or chimes – as well as a phone call or text message.

This autumn, AdhereTech will be starting trials with The Walter Reed Army Medical Center for patients using type 2 diabetes medications, Weill Cornell Medical College for patients using single-dose HIV medication, and numerous hospital systems to reduce readmissions. AdhereTech has plans to begin a pharma pilot in early 2014.

“The healthcare industry is developing and deploying new M2M technologies that improve patient care, reduce costs and automate services,” said Alex Brisbourne (pictured below), president and COO, KORE. “Delivering reliable cellular and satellite connectivity across the globe for health management services has been a significant focus, and KORE continues to be the M2M network of choice for companies like AdhereTech that are introducing innovative healthcare applications that are revolutionising the industry. KORE is proud to work diligently with its partners across industries to understand their business, helping them more quickly and efficiently bring new M2M applications to market.”

AdhereTech has created patented smart pill bottles that improve medication adherence. These bottles automatically measure the number of pills in the bottle in real time, and wirelessly transmit this HIPAA-compliant data to the cloud. If a patient hasn’t taken his/her medication, the AdhereTech service reminds them via phone call or text message. The system can also solicit feedback to determine the root causes of non-adherence. Additionally, AdhereTech is built with an open API, which facilitates partnerships and fosters integration with other adherence solutions.

KORE is a wireless network provider specialising in the rapidly expanding global M2M communications market. Providing unified control and management for cellular and satellite network service delivery in more than 180 countries worldwide, KORE empowers its application, hardware and wireless operator partners to efficiently deliver M2M solutions for connected devices across the globe. Industries as diverse as healthcare, utilities, enterprise IT, transaction processing and fleet management rely on the KORE network to deliver operational efficiencies and cost-savings. KORE offers a range of technologies — including GSM, HSPA, CDMA and EV-DO, as well as satellite services — to ensure the greatest possible reliability and coverage.