A FICO Score For Medication Compliance?

In Keeping Score on How You Take Your Medicine, Tara Parker-Pope of the New York Times, reports on a new initiative from the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) known previously for its credit score ratings.  FICO has developed a Medication Adherence Score, using publicly identifiable information (like employment status, age and gender) to determine a patient’s score, which it says “can predict which patients are at highest risk for skipping or incorrectly using prescription medications.”

Parker-Pope reports, “By the end of the year, an estimated two million to three million patients will have been given a FICO medication adherence score and a total of 10 million patients are expected to be scored during the next 12 months…FICO officials say insurance companies and other health care groups will use the score to identify those patients who could benefit the most from follow-up phone calls, letters and e-mails to encourage proper use of medication.”

The FICO medication adherence score has not received a universally warm reception: e-Patient Dave and Society for Participatory Medicine member Alexandra Albin point out that the score only accounts for whether prescriptions are purchased, not whether the pills have actually been taken.

In a related effort, Geisinger Health Systems and CVS Caremark are conducting a study to assess whether enhanced doctor-pharmacist communication can help with medication adherence.  Shefali S. Kukarni reports in Tracking Down Patients Who Skip Their Drugs that, “The 18-month investigation will track a prescription from the moment it is submitted electronically to the pharmacy until it reaches the patient. If the patient does not pick up the prescription a ‘red flag’ or some form of notification will be sent to the doctor.”

But as Jessie Gruman recently blogged, there is no magic pill to cure poor medication adherence.  There are myriad reasons why people don’t take medications as prescribed: cost, side effects, busy schedules, confusion, skepticism – to name a few.  Jessie wonders, “What 10-page pamphlet, 10-minute counseling session or $10-off coupon could reliably help all of us overcome these barriers?”

Will tactics like the new medication adherence score from FICO or tracking our prescription purchases as in the Geisinger -CVS study increase medication adherence or prove to be distractions?

Conversation Continues posts feature ongoing discussions or news on current health topics with links to related materials.  They are part of the Center for Advancing Health’s portfolio of free, evidence-based coverage of what it takes to find good care and make the most of it.  This post was written by Monica Kriete and Goldie Pyka, CFAH Communications Manager.

*This blog post was originally published at Prepared Patient Forum: What It Takes Blog*


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