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Closed-Loop Patient Education
MedTera and HealthPrize Team Up to Improve Medication Adherence & Health Outcomes

A conversation with David Duplay (see bio), President of MedTera, Tom Kottler (see bio), CEO, HealthPrize, and Katrina S. Firlik, M.D., Chief Medical Officer (see bio), HealthPrize, about how the two companies are working together to combine closed-loop marketing, patient education, and incentives to improve medication adherence and health outcomes.

Aired LIVE on: Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Background

Research shows that 29 to 71 percent of patients new to therapies ("rookies") stop taking their prescribed medication during the first month of treatment. This is a discontinuation rate 6 to 31 times greater than during subsequent monthly periods. A new study shows how the risk of discontinuation varied among different medication classes, types of patients and points in therapy.

MedTera, an integrated marketing solutions company dedicated to improving education, promotion and communications in the healthcare, life sciences and pharmaceutical industries, recently announced the launch of its Rookies @ Risk program. Designed in conjunction with Dr. Mark Vanelli, a member of MedTera's Physicians Advisory Board and a faculty member at the Harvard University Medical School, Rookies @ Risk provides mobile educational resources to people with chronic illnesses, including hypertension, asthma, diabetes, breast cancer, high cholesterol, glaucoma and bipolar disorder, to ensure they adhere to their prescription medication regimen.

MedTera recently partnered with HealthPrize Technologies, a web-based software company that motivates people to fill and stay on prescription medications.

The partnership brings together MedTera's online and offline educational resources and HealthPrize's online, interactive platform to educate people about their chronic diseases and incentivize them for taking their medications as prescribed. With non-adherence leading to $290 billion in otherwise avoidable medical spending each year1 and the issue being the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, the partnership comes at a critical time for this healthcare crisis.

MedTera's programs, especially Rookies at Risk, will provide patients with educational materials that will assist them in overcoming barriers to initially filling their script and getting their first refill or two to get past the "30-90 day cliff", while HealthPrize will provide those patients with motivation and education to get them to remain adherent over time.

Some Questions/Topics to be Covered

• Tell us more about the Rookies at Risk program.
• Can you give us an idea of how the risk of discontinuation varies among therapeutic classes?
• Give us an example of how MedTera and HealthPrize might work together on an adherence project. Who are your clients? What kinds of education and incentives would you employ? How do you integrate online and offline resources? How do you close the educatioon loop with patients?

• You may call +1 (347) 996-5894 during the show to ask your own question (or just listen if you are not at a computer with Internet access). This is also a good way to stay in the conversation after the allotted streaming audio time limit is reached.

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David S. Duplay is the President of MedTera and is responsible for developing and overseeing the company's vision, mission and strategic direction. With a solid background in healthcare marketing, communications and technology and more than 20 years of experience working with pharmaceutical companies, research organizations and patient groups, David brings a wealth of industry knowledge and experience to MedTera.

As an advocate for the progress of the life sciences industry, David believes that aligning the goals of all stakeholders in the healthcare delivery continuum is critical to improve outcomes for patients while lowering the overall healthcare spend. Prior to founding MedTera, David served as the General Manager for several marketing services companies where he developed strategic, closed-loop marketing programs and solutions.

A graduate of Southwestern University, David also sits on the advisory board of HealthPrize Technologies, a wellness company and industry leader in developing technology solutions used to enhance medication compliance.

Tom Kottler is co-founder and CEO of HealthPrize, the fourth start-up venture he has founded or been associated with as part of the initial management team. Tom's first start-up is called MedAptus, a healthcare IT company in Boston that creates and sells software systems for physician practice groups. After leaving MedAptus, Tom joined the management team of Celadon Science, a venture developing cell-based wound care technology with technology licensed from the cell biology department at the Harvard Medical School. Tom's third venture is called VeinAid, which is developing non-invasive medical technology to treat varicose veins, and is based on patents with Tom as named inventor.

Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Tom spent nine years in private legal practice with firms in Chicago and Connecticut. He received a BS from Middlebury College and a JD from George Washington University.

Katrina S. Firlik, M.D. is co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of HealthPrize Technologies. Before founding HealthPrize, Katrina was a neurosurgeon in private practice at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut, and on the clinical faculty at Yale University School of Medicine.

In addition to her numerous scientific publications, Katrina is the author of Another Day in the Frontal Lobe: A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside, published by Random House and reviewed by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and O Magazine. She enjoys conveying medical concepts to the public and has appeared on CNN, Fox, and MSNBC as a commentator on a variety of medical issues. She is also an inventor of a brain stimulation device designed to enhance recovery after stroke.

Katrina did her undergraduate studies at Cornell University, with a major in cultural anthropology. She attended medical school at Case Western Reserve University, and did her neurosurgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh, one the largest neurosurgery centers in the country, where she was the first woman ever accepted to the program. Katrina also completed a specialty fellowship in epilepsy surgery at Yale University.

Additional Resources

• Improve Patient & Physician Education with Integrated Closed-Loop Marketing & ROI Analysis -- A conversation with David Duplay, President of MedTera, about his company's innovative marketing programs that are designed to improve education, promotion and communications in the healthcare, life sciences and pharmaceutical industries.
• Eyes on the Adherence Prize: How HealthPrize Uses Financial Incentives and Fun to Change Patient Behavior -- A conversation with Tom Kottler, CEO, and Katrina S. Firlik, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, HealthPrize, about the company's innovative, compelling approach to solving one of pharma's most perplexing puzzle: how to improve medication adherence.