PROVIDENCE – CVS and Rite Aid are selling TimerCaps, a device developed by TimerCap LLC to help reduce occurrences of medication nonadherence, or not taking medications in accordance with prescriber’s instructions, sharing medications with others, etc.
Citing data from the Annals of Internal Medicine, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores reported late last month that medication nonadherence is responsible each year for nearly 125,000 deaths, 10 percent of all hospitalizations and costs the health care system between $100 billion and nearly $300 billion, which represents 3 percent to 10 percent of total U.S. health care costs.
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It could be devastating when patients forget if they’ve taken their medication and then take a double-dose of an opioid medication, said Larry Twersky, CEO, TimerCap LLC. “Only 50 percent of the public is taking medication as prescribed … people are taking more often than they should, and 52 percent of all opioid medications come from a friend or family member.”
Twersky said medication should remain in its original vial, which contains essential labeling information. When EMTs respond to overdose situations or other emergency situations, they need to know what kind of medications people took; a seven-day pill box on the counter doesn’t reveal that information, he added.
In addition to CVS and Rite Aid, the TimerCap website sells the caps, which are uniquely designed to fit the respective pharmacy’s prescription bottles and fulfill the six principles of safety against prescription-drug abuse, said Twersky. They address patient safety principles by measuring to avoid accidental overdoses, monitoring to determine when it is safe to drive after taking the medication, and managing medications in their original containers with labeling information. Additionally, TimerCaps detect unwanted openings, deter medication thefts and allow for safe disposal of unneeded medication, which fulfill family and household safety principles.
The company sold 500 TimerCaps at a deep discount to the South Kingstown Partnership for Prevention, said Mary-Kathleen Whitten, outreach coordinator, for the group’s fundraising efforts to raise $4,500 to send seven teens and two adults to a Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America leadership conference in Atlanta this summer.
The TimerCaps fit nicely with the Count It! Lock It! Drop It! program the partnership launched this year to promote monitoring, safeguarding and safely disposing of one’s medications, she added. The freshmen and sophomores selected to attend the CADCA conference are, she said, “on fire with ideas” and they envision themselves working on these issues of substance-abuse prevention for the rest of their lives. Much of the partnership’s fundraising is driven by teens, who will be leaders in their high schools for a few years and can come back to train the next group of leaders, Whitten said.
Asked what they will do if their diverse fundraising efforts, including a GoFundMe initiative, fall short, Whitten said, “There is no fallback; we will raise the money.”
“CVS Health Medication TimerCaps are an easy-to-use tool to help people keep track of a medication’s dosing schedule,” said Amy Lanctot, senior manager, public relations, CVS Health. “The TimerCap works like a stopwatch, showcasing how much time has passed since the last time the medication bottle was closed, helping patients answer simple questions like, ‘Did I take my meds today?’ or ‘Is it time for my next dose?’ ”
While CVS Health promotes TimerCaps as a medication-adherence tool, TimerCap calls them an opioid-overdose deterrent tool. “Honestly, no one really likes to talk about prevention; it’s not a sexy term, so it’s not getting the news it needs,” said Twersky.
For more information, visit timercap.com and GoFundMe.com/skcadca.
Nancy Kirsch is a PBN contributing writer.
