When it came time to help Medicare Advantage members with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) improve their use of inhalers, Humana took an innovative approach: provide patients with over-the-phone guidance. During a call, participants would describe how they used their inhalers, after which a pharmacist would correct their technique with verbal step-by-step instructions.
The result: of the nearly 2,000 Medicare Advantage participants, nearly 40% were using their inhalers incorrectly at the start of the program. After the first phone education session, misuse dropped to less than 7%.1
That’s good news to patients and providers alike. Poor medication adherence takes the lives of 125,000 Americans annually and causes an estimated $100 billion to $300 billion in annual U.S. healthcare costs.2 By helping improve medication adherence among Medicare Advantage plan members, Humana is not only enhancing patient outcomes but easing the economic burden on healthcare providers.
Over-the-phone guidance is only one of many ways Humana is helping improve medication adherence among Medicare Advantage plan members. Here are some other examples:
