A design driven approach
Consumers who neglect taking their medications and dietary supplements as recommended exact staggering economic and social costs. It is well-documented that failure to take medications on time and in the correct dosage can be as dangerous and costly as many illnesses. It is equally well-known that methods designed to improve adherence yield outcomes that can save both lives and money. Variant Products is fast becoming a world leader for innovative and ingenious products that provide a complete range of solutions for adherence.
Our design driven management has developed a line of strategies and solutions to support and enhance consumer's adherence to their medication and dietary supplement regimens answering the needs and demands of consumers, caregivers, and healthcare professionals alike. Tailored intervention tools like our VitaCarry and VitaBuddy products target the root cause of non-adherence, and provide ingenious tablet cases, pill reminders, and pill grinders designed to help consumers across the continuum of health conditions. New pill cutters and a wide range of new pill cases and pill boxes are under development to provide apothecaries across the country with the best tools available.
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Retailers are taking notice
Variant's current retail distribution exceeds 12,000 stores. We believe this is one of the most important and under-served categories in the retail sector. In a market as critical as medication and supplement adherence, it is astounding to find consumers still limited to 7 day organizers with clumsy flip lid designs, hard to use locks and innefective latches on products that deliver virtually no value. Smart retailers are taking notice!
Variant Products designs and manufactures our VitaCarry and VitaBuddy tablet cases to incorporate better ergonomics, more reliable mechanics and materials, functional features and all in a package that is more attractive overall. Our customers vary widely from vitamin shops to on-line boutiques, to specialty catalogs, to retail giants like Walmart, Walgreens, Costco and Amway.
These customers recognize that delivering good apothecary style design to promote medication/supplement adherence and high value to their customers is not just good for their health - it's good for business! The cost of non-adherence is staggering.
Pill Cases, Pill Boxes and Pill Reminders can actually contribute to increased revenue at the prescription counter. Pill Grinders and Pill Crushers are also great tools to help consumers who are maybe not taking their meds as prescribed because they find their pills or tablets too difficult to swallow.
If your local apothecary does not sell the VitaCarry or VitaBuddy brand, perhaps you need to bring it to their attention. And if you are a pharmacy retailer, perhaps it's time to give Variant Products a call.
The staggering cost of non-adherence
Total estimated cost of Non-Adherence: $300 billion
10-25% of all hospital admissions
40% of hospital admissions for age 65+
$2,000 annually in additional MD visits per patient
340 deaths per day
50% of all patients are taking their medicine incorrectly
36% of all pharmacy sales are lost due to non-adherence
Studies have provided the following:
More than 125,000 Americans die each year due to prescription medication
non-adherence, twice the number killed in automobile accidents.
Every day, prescription non-adherence costs more than $270 million in
additional hospitalization and other medical costs.
9 out of every 10 outpatients are taking prescribed medicines
improperly, contributing to prolonged or additional illness.
People who miss doses need 3 times as many doctor visits as
others and face increased medical costs.
When prescriptions are written:
1/3 of patients take the medicine as directed
1/3 take some of the medicine
1/3 never fill the prescription
Nearly 60% of the prescription medication non-adherence
problems could be prevented by improving adherence.
At any given time, regardless of age group, it is estimated up to 59% of those on five
or more medications are in non-adherence. This event alone is responsible for:
11% of all hospital admissions
23% of all nursing home admissions
Additional $2,000/yr. spent on healthcare costs
Three times as many doctor's visits
20-25% of employer's healthcare expenses
$300 billion lost to complications of medication errors (US)
1.5 million people each year are injured (US)
218,000 people die as a result of medication errors (US)
To increase adherence
At least one study has shown that the simple use of an adherence or apothecary aid (e.g. pill cases, pill boxes, pill reminders, etc.) can improve adherence by as much as 450%
When a medicine or supplement is hard to swallow
12% of Americans over 65 are clinically diagnosed with Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing)
A pill grinder or a pill crusher can be a useful tool as an aid to compliance if someone is avoiding taking medicines or supplements as prescribed because they are difficult to swallow.
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