Based on its recent analysis of the North American medication adherence market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Philips, a global leader in health technology, with the 2018 North American Enabling Technology Leadership Award for creating a connected ecosystem that allows payers and providers to track their patients' health.

The Philips Medication Adherence Solution (PMAS) features spencer®, an enterprise-grade medication dispenser, which finds special application in managing medication for high acuity and chronic disease patients. With this solution, pharmacists, caregivers, patients, and providers are connected on a single platform, making it a vastly superior solution to mere pill dispensing devices.

"The PMAS eases traceability and follow-ups, and supports patients' compliance with treatment protocols. It is designed with a patient-friendly interface, as well as an alert system and connected app that offers timely notifications for pharmacists and clinicians if a patient misses a dose," said Divyaa Ravishankar Industry Principal. "With its remote patient monitoring capability, digital tools, and door-to-door delivery, the company has innovated the caregiving pathway from hospital to home."

The World Health Organization (WHO) requires a patient's compliance to be at 80 percent, but the PMAS has an average patient adherence level of 98 percent. Many long-term care centers in the United States use spencer® to help elderly and chronically ill patients better manage their health. The solution enables the patient's caregivers to keep close watch on their adherence, as its automated dispensing service is linked to the phone line and issues alerts to caregivers. Additionally, the device can even function during power outages, dispense medication in advance if a patient is scheduled to travel, and set both audio and visual reminders to ensure no doses are missed.

Providers contracted by Philips offer PMAS units to their patients at no direct cost, and every spencer®-certified pharmacist verifies coverage details before transferring and packaging prescriptions to the device. One of the most significant value-added features in the device is the spencer® Assist app, which facilitates information sharing between patients and their family caregivers. It ensures stability and transparency for high-acuity patients and is one of the best tools to monitor patients suffering from opioid addiction.

"At an enterprise level, the device can potentially improve the Medicare STAR rating for health systems," noted Ravishankar. "By boosting medication adherence, the PMAS reduces unnecessary hospitalizations and helps all stakeholders save healthcare costs. Its 4x doses per day and provision of a subscription model have positioned it ahead of its competitors and made Philips richly deserving of the 2018 North American Enabling Technology Leadership Award."

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to a company that has developed a pioneering technology that not only enhances current products, but also enables the development of new products and applications. The award recognizes the high market acceptance potential of the recipient's technology.