Last month, My MedRec went global. If you’re not familiar with the app, My MedRec is a free system designed on behalf of pharmaceutical industry representative association Rx&D. The iPhone friendly system helps users track their medications, including dosage, timing and drug information. Additionally it creates an easily shareable data that can be sent to doctors, nurses and pharmacists, ensuring seamless medical care.
Screen capture of the app in action.
Photo source: itunes.apple.com
The app makes a lot of sense in the face of the fact that Canadians are the leading smart phone adopters in the world. As well as having some sort of smart phone in their pocket, most Canadians experience a prescribed drug taking regime at some point in their lives, and the rapidly increasing retirement age segment of the population are enjoying a greatly enhanced quality of life thanks to the availability of long-term drug related treatment regimes. Pharmaceutical courses already stress the importance of consumer education, but this service creates a bridge between all the many medical and pharmaceutical professionals the average user may need to see as part of their healthcare plan, as well as providing 24/7 at-home guidance..
A valuable tool for clinical research
My MedRec already hit the top 10 list for downloads inside Canada, and with demands for a worldwide product coming from everywhere from Saudi Arabia to Ireland, as well as great deal of demand from the US, it was only natural to extend coverage. An added advantage of the data recording system is that as well as serving as an educational tool for drug consumers, users track their prescriptions over time, which, with the consent of participants, could be a valuable tool for clinical research. Investing in creating and maintaining the app is part of Rx&D’s attempt to co-operate with the Plain Language Labelling Initiative.
This app should also be of particular interest to regulatory affairs students because My MedRec is an example of how the pharmaceutical industry develops responsively to the government instituted oversight. This app has many important bodies on board as well as Rx&D, including Canada’s Research Based Pharmaceutical Companies, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Nurses Association, the Canadian Pharmacists Association, and Best Medicines Coalition, thus showing the industry at its best.
Have you downloaded My MedRec? How else can you see it affecting the pharmaceutical industry?