MEDUCATION®

The problem of medication non-adherence continues to persist among patients and has been demonstrated to lead directly to poor healthcare outcomes and increased costs. Meducation®—simplified patient medication instructions enables the healthcare provider to create fully-personalized, easy-to-understand medication instructions within their normal workflow. Instructions are available in more than 20 languages and in formats that make understanding medications intuitive and simple. Documents are written in a 5th to 8th grade reading level, and incorporate pictograms, large font sizes and instructional videos.

The Problem: Medication Non-AdherenceIn the United States, it is estimated that lack of adherence to medication instructions causes approximately 125,000 deaths and at least 10% of hospitalizations and 23% of nursing home admissions annually. Half of the more than 4 billion prescriptions dispensed each year are not taken as prescribed. On average, non-adherent patients have higher health costs per year. The IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics estimates that implementing improvements in medication adherence could mitigate $105.4 billion in avoidable costs.1

Low Health Literacy Impedes CommunicationLow health literacy is a major contributor to medication non-adherence. Roughly one in three people in the US are considered ‘low health literate.’ The Institute of Medicine estimates that more than 90 million Americans have such difficulty understanding their treatment and medication instructions that they are unable to effectively manage their own care. This can be caused by poor literacy, failing eyesight with an increasing elderly population, limited English proficiency, or reduced cognitive function often brought on by stress or illness. Low health literacy makes it difficult for healthcare providers to communicate effectively with patients and caregivers, leading to medication errors and poor medication adherence.

The Solution: Meducation

More Effective Patient CommunicationMeducation delivers simplified, multi-lingual medication instructions for patients with low health literacy or limited English proficiency. Meducation provides:

• Detailed instructions for over 4,500 medications, more than 99% of the most frequently prescribed

• Intuitive calendar summarizing patients’ complex medication regimens

• Videos that demonstrate proper medication administration techniques, such as for inhalers and eye drops

Meducation uses a patient’s drug and sig (prescription dose and frequency) information to create engaging and intuitive personalized instructions and regimen summaries that:

• Are at a 5th to 8th grade reading level

• Offer 6 font sizes, including large font for the elderly or vision-impaired

• Depict the patient’s specific sig unambiguously using the Universal Medication Schedule (UMS)

• Include pictograms illustrating dosing measures, to reduce dosing errors

• Link to a library of multilingual videos that demonstrate proper medication techniques

• Are available in more than 20 languages for patients with limited English proficiency

• Present information in research-based, engaging and intuitive formats

Improving Medication Adherence

1 Issue Brief: Medication Adherence and Health IT Date: January 9, 2014. Author: Aja B. Williams, J.D., M.P.A. Policy Analyst ONC, Office of Policy and Planning.

MEDUCATION®

Proven to Improve Medication Adherence, Patient Satisfaction and Readmissions RatesHospitals using Meducation have demonstrated improved medication adherence, decreased readmissions and improved patient satisfaction. The result is improved patient health and reduced medical costs, as well as improved scores and funding under

• At Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, a pilot study demonstrated a 70% improvement in 30-day readmission rates for high-risk patients with Meducation over standard medication sheets.

• The University of Connecticut saw dramatic improvements in their HCAHPS scores, measured 90 days after implementing Meducation, as well as reduced readmission rates, both of which drove increases in Medicare funding.

• At the University of Sciences, a randomized study demonstrated Meducation sheets were more than twice as likely to be read.

Relevant and Actionable to Each PatientMeducation integrates easily with any EMR or Pharmacy Management system, enabling hospitals, clinics and pharmacies to dynamically create personalized patient instructions and regimen summaries based on a patient’s drug and sig information.

Meducation from FDB - Innovation for Better and Safer Care Meducation helps overcome communication barriers between healthcare providers and patients, with medication instructions that any patient can understand. All content can be delivered to patients electronically or printed, without interrupting the clinician workflow. The result? Increased medication adherence and patient satisfaction leading to improved patient health and reduced costs.

MEDUCATION_DS (3/30/17) PDF© First Databank, Inc. Part of the Hearst Health network. All trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective holders.

First Databank, Inc., 701 Gateway Boulevard, Suite 600, South San Francisco, CA 94080 800.633.3453 650.588.5454 Fax 650.246.2829 Other Locations: Indianapolis, Indiana • Exeter, England

For more information, contact Sales today at 800.633.3453. Or, visit fdbhealth.com

Meducation Personalized Instructions

Regimen Summary improves medication adherence.

Videos demonstrate proper medication administration techniques.

Personalized medication instructions reduce medication errors.

MEDUCATION_DS (5/31/17) PDF