text_1: Penn study: Pay patients to take their pills
text_2: Researchers studied about 1,500 patients with blood cholesterol levels that put them at risk for heart disease and stroke to try to encourage them (via cash) to take their medicines – statins. Results were mixed, but the doctor-and-patient pairs who both received cash rewards showed the best results in lowering cholesterol levels. This story does an excellent job of explaining the study, providing great context on the underlying problems related to medication adherence, and quoting experts not involved in the study This is a lucid and well-rounded article on a very interesting topic. Solving behavioral issues that prevent patients from taking their medications is an important challenge. Even in this study, even with rewards, fewer than half the patients treated for high cholesterol levels kept taking their medication as prescribed. Many of the established Good Ideas in medicine (medications, etc) are stymied by downstream hurdles — doctors don’t prescribe the treatment as often as they should, patients don’t follow through, etc. Statins are a great example. It is really important to examine these gaps and design clever, cost-effective ways to close them.