Ever wondered if you took that medication that you were supposed to take three hours ago? Medication has never been revolutionized like this before. Digital drugs is now a reality and can help improve the lives of many sick and forgetful people. This digital drug functions to monitor the intake of medication to ensure that the patient is actually taking the medication and the correct dosage of it. The patients right now that would be using this drug are prescribed “Abilify, which is used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.” The Japanese company Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., was given approval by the U.S. authorities to be given to the public. The Japanese pharmaceutical company has been in collaboration with Proteus Digital Health Inc. to provide the chip technology that has been implemented into the drugs.
How do digital drugs work?
There are three components to this system of medication consumption. First being, the pills have a form of tracking device embedded into it. This tracking device, when activated by stomach acids, sends messages to a patch worn on the patient. This patch is the second component and is capable of tracking the time and amount of medication that the patient took. The information is then sent to our last component, the smartphone. The app can be used by the patient, doctors, and caregivers to track the medication intake of the patient. These drugs seek to solve problems that patients, pharmaceutical companies and insurers face. Drugs will be able to provide factual timestamps that affirm to caregivers and patients that they took the medication at the right time and the right amount of it. Drug sales also stand to see an improvement, with visible evidence to see whether or not you took medication, forgotten dosages will be a thing of the past. With timely intakes, drug sales will go up and patients conditions will be maintained or improved. Insurance companies will benefit as well because if the correct dosage is taken and monitored, medical costs to treat patients that are deteriorating from forgotten medication will decrease. While digitized drugs may seem expensive now to insurance companies, the long-run effects will result in lower payouts. Mental health patients who are capable of hiding medication or tricking their caregivers into believing they consumed it will no longer have that option with Abilify. Caregivers and mental health patients both stand to benefit from the technological advancement of Abilify, making the task of monitoring medication consumption an easier and organized task. After the success of Abilify, Otsuka will expand into other forms of medication which will benefit many users and caregivers. Medication given to prisoners may also be implemented with this technology so inmates cannot harbor medication and use it as a form of bartering. Regular users of prescription medication may also be ingesting these digitized drugs in the near future as well, allowing tech companies to enter business sectors that are new to their line of work. This innovation and pioneering led by Otsuka Pharmaceuticals Co., has paved the way for other companies looking to enter into this niche market that blends technology and medication. Researchers from credit universities like Harvard and MIT published their results from their creation of an ingestible device that can monitor how often a person eats. The expansion of this market is happening now where venture capitalists have “poured $4.2 billion into 296” startups in the United States last year. In response to the expected expansion in the health industry, the FDA plans to hire additional staff to create new guidelines and develop a deeper understanding of the type of technology that is seeking approval. It’ll be exciting to see how many and what new improvements technology and healthcare will come up with in the upcoming years. Original Sources: Wall Street Journal Image: High Desert HealingEver wondered if you took that medication that you were supposed to take three hours ago? Medication has never been revolutionized like this before. Digital drugs is now a reality and can help improve the lives of many sick and forgetful people. This digital drug functions to monitor the intake of medication to ensure that the patient is actually taking the medication and the correct dosage of it. The patients right now that would be using this drug are prescribed “Abilify, which is used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.” The Japanese company Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., was given approval by the U.S. authorities to be given to the public. The Japanese pharmaceutical company has been in collaboration with Proteus Digital Health Inc. to provide the chip technology that has been implemented into the drugs.
How do digital drugs work?
There are three components to this system of medication consumption. First being, the pills have a form of tracking device embedded into it. This tracking device, when activated by stomach acids, sends messages to a patch worn on the patient. This patch is the second component and is capable of tracking the time and amount of medication that the patient took. The information is then sent to our last component, the smartphone. The app can be used by the patient, doctors, and caregivers to track the medication intake of the patient. These drugs seek to solve problems that patients, pharmaceutical companies and insurers face. Drugs will be able to provide factual timestamps that affirm to caregivers and patients that they took the medication at the right time and the right amount of it. Drug sales also stand to see an improvement, with visible evidence to see whether or not you took medication, forgotten dosages will be a thing of the past. With timely intakes, drug sales will go up and patients conditions will be maintained or improved. Insurance companies will benefit as well because if the correct dosage is taken and monitored, medical costs to treat patients that are deteriorating from forgotten medication will decrease. While digitized drugs may seem expensive now to insurance companies, the long-run effects will result in lower payouts. Mental health patients who are capable of hiding medication or tricking their caregivers into believing they consumed it will no longer have that option with Abilify. Caregivers and mental health patients both stand to benefit from the technological advancement of Abilify, making the task of monitoring medication consumption an easier and organized task. After the success of Abilify, Otsuka will expand into other forms of medication which will benefit many users and caregivers. Medication given to prisoners may also be implemented with this technology so inmates cannot harbor medication and use it as a form of bartering. Regular users of prescription medication may also be ingesting these digitized drugs in the near future as well, allowing tech companies to enter business sectors that are new to their line of work. This innovation and pioneering led by Otsuka Pharmaceuticals Co., has paved the way for other companies looking to enter into this niche market that blends technology and medication. Researchers from credit universities like Harvard and MIT published their results from their creation of an ingestible device that can monitor how often a person eats. The expansion of this market is happening now where venture capitalists have “poured $4.2 billion into 296” startups in the United States last year. In response to the expected expansion in the health industry, the FDA plans to hire additional staff to create new guidelines and develop a deeper understanding of the type of technology that is seeking approval. It’ll be exciting to see how many and what new improvements technology and healthcare will come up with in the upcoming years. Original Sources: Wall Street Journal Image: High Desert Healing
