Cancer care has evolved significantly in the past decade, allowing for more personal, precise, and convenient treatment. EveryDose Founder and CEO Andrew Hourani discussed the recent shift from IV therapy to self-administered oral therapy and its effects on patients, namely medication nonadherence. This new wave of cancer treatment is met with high reviews with 85% of patients preferring oral therapy to IV therapy. Oral chemotherapy means convenience and freedom for those fighting this already complex disease. No more weekly appointments at the hospital, scheduling rides because of the inevitable drowsiness of chemo, or an embedded port in your skin. The oral route is not without its challenges, though.
Oral therapy requires additional effort from patients as they now play an increasingly active role in their treatment. Taking chemotherapy medications at home comes with strict instructions and careful considerations. If doses are missed or not taken properly, the cancer cells will not be killed effectively. In fact, 30% of patients are non-adherent to their oral chemotherapy regimens1. This non-adherence is two-fold with patients lacking a clear med management solution and clinicians looking for solutions to tracking adherence, tracking symptoms, and analyzing efficacy of treatment. This is where technology comes into play.
With innovative digital health solutions like EveryDose, managing medications at home is easier for patients and highly informative for clinicians. And the best part: no gaps in information. Patients can manage their intricate oral chemotherapy regimens right from their phone with the EveryDose app. Its medication reminders, daily tracking, and patient education resources simplify the process of taking multiple daily meds. EveryDose’s ability to connect to electronic health records (EHR) means all medication data is viewable and filterable by those involved in patients’ care. Clinicians can view taken and missed medications, full medication lists, patient-reported outcomes, and barriers to adherence in real-time in EveryDose’s embedded clinical portal. Through the complimentary patient app and clinical portal solutions offered by EveryDose, patients can have better experiences with and improved outcomes from treating cancer at home, all while having peace of mind that their providers are there every dose along the way.
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(1)Utilizing patient reported outcomes for patients recieving oral chemotherapy. Emily R. Mackler, Kathleen W. Beekman, Laura Bushey, Anne Gentz, Kathleen Davis, Carol Yarrington, Karen B Farris, and Jennifer J. Griggs Journal of Clinical Oncology 2017 35:8_suppl, 190-190
