Glaucoma Australia has partnered with MedAdvisor, taking “an important step toward our mission to eliminate glaucoma blindness to help improve medication adherence among patients living with glaucoma”, according to Glaucoma Australia National Chief Executive Officer Geoff Pollard.
The two organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will see Glaucoma Australia become a MedAdvisor Health Association Partner, and through its communication channels, encourage patients living with glaucoma to use the MedAdvisor platform.
Additionally, MedAdvisor and Glaucoma Australia will collaborate to produce a series of patient education messages that will be delivered via the MedAdvisor platform to help improve medication adherence and understanding of the condition.
Intuitive, Integrated System
The MedAdvisor platform is a highly automated and intuitive Australian software system that connects patients to their local pharmacy, providing them with real time access to their personal medication records. Available free on mobile and internet devices, the platform also incorporates features including reminders and pre-ordering of medications, which together improves adherence by approximately 20 per cent.
Any tool which can assist patients to better manage and understand their medication is welcome
Since launching in 2013, MedAdvisor has over 200,000 registered users and is connected with a third of pharmacies across Australia. Recent GP software integration enables patients to order script renewals remotely from their doctor.
The collaboration with Glaucoma Australia builds on MedAdvisor’s growing Health Partner network which includes Bupa, Epilepsy Queensland and Painaustralia. The Health Partner network is an important source of patient registrations for MedAdvisor, as it provides third party validation from recognised and credible organisations and additional promotion and support.
Robert Read, CEO of MedAdvisor said the partnership with Glaucoma Australia would help Australia achieve better health outcomes. “Working collaboratively with key health associations, such as Glaucoma Australia, is one of the most effective ways that we can expand the reach of the MedAdvisor platform to help more Australians improve their health through better medication adherence. We know that improvement in medication adherence can lead to better health outcomes, such as delaying the onset of vision loss, making this partnership extremely important for over 300,000 glaucoma patients in Australia.”
Geoff Pollard said, “Australian prescribing data has shown glaucoma medication persistence was 56 per cent by six months and was further reduced to 48 per cent at one year.1 Evidence supports a patient-centric self-management approach that facilitates optimal adherence to the medication management plan.2 Pharmacists who continually stress to patients the need for adherence and persistence with medication management strategies, and provide practical assistance are undertaking a critical action that encourages patients to stay on, and use their treatment in the manner prescribed.
“Any tool which can assist patients to better manage and understand their medication is welcome, and we believe MedAdvisor is a great solution for patients living with glaucoma. Working together with MedAdvisor is an important step toward our mission to eliminate glaucoma blindness.”
