Why EMMA

The reality is that we, as patients, are not very good at managing our medications. Patient non-adherence is a modern epidemic that costs the healthcare system billions of dollars.

The facts about patient self-medication management are:

• 60% of patients do not adhere to their prescribed medications. There are many reasons for this:
  • Forgetfulness. Many people forget to take their medications or forget that they have already taken their medications and take them again.
  • The medication regimen is very complex. Many people take multiple medications and the instructions for taking them can be confusing. When and how one takes their medications is critical to proper treatment.
  • Medication changes. Prescriptions are discontinued, doses are changed and new prescriptions are added. It is not uncommon for a physician to stop one medication and prescribe an alternative. However, the patient may not remember to stop taking the original medication.
• There are more than 1.5 million medication errors each year that result in a serious adverse event.
• 23% of Medicare Emergency Room Visits are the result of medication related events.
• More than 100,000 people die each year as a result of medication related events.
• The error rate for filling a standard pill box is greater than 20%
• Adverse Drug Events (ADE’s) account for more than $177 Billion a year in added healthcare costs.