– Philips and Spencer Health Solutions expands partnership to Europe to benefit from in-home medication adherence and telehealth platform.
– The Spencer Smart Hub is launching in selected markets in Europe including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Switzerland, beginning with the Netherlands in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Building on their successful partnership providing medication adherence solutions to high-acuity patients in the U.S. Royal Philips and Spencer Health Solutions announced the expansion of their partnership to Europe. Already in use by patients taking multiple medications in the United States and Canada, the Spencer® Smart Hub is launching in selected markets in Europe including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Switzerland, beginning with the Netherlands in the fourth quarter of 2019.
spencer Smart Hub Overview
The Spencer medication adherence solution is part of a portfolio of Philips solutions to support and remotely manage elderly and patients in their homes and connect them with their care providers when needed. The Spencer device offers a connected ecosystem: an in-home dispensing device providing pre-packaged unit dose medication, a connection to the pharmacy and an assist app for family and caregivers. Family and caregivers are notified and able to contact the patient, when the patient does not take medication.
The platform has high rates of medication adherence and patient engagement in the U.S. A case study shows an average adherence rate for patients using Spencer greater than 95 percent, and an average patient response rate to health status questions presented with medication dispenses greater than 81 percent.
The Bigger Picture on Improving Medication Plan Compliance
Technological solutions can help patients and their caregivers to improve medication plan compliance. Medication adherence reduces hospitalization, emergency department use and doctor’s visits of patients and thereby lessens this burden on healthcare systems leading to lower healthcare costs. Estimates suggest that non-adherence contributes to nearly 200,000 premature deaths in Europe and costs of EUR 125 billion annually in excess healthcare services for European Governments.
“Through our partnership with Philips we can now jointly introduce our medication adherence solution into the homes of patients across Europe,” said Tom Rhoads, CEO of Spencer. “This expansion builds on our existing partnership in the U.S. which benefits care providers and patients by improving medication adherence. Our digital solution, that connects patients and care providers, supports the delivery of medicine and proactive care while driving down the costs of medical complications related to non-adherence.”
