Perspectives of Pharmacists and Patients Regarding GoodRx's Latest App for Streamlining Prescription Management

In July 2023, GoodRx announced the launch of a new app known as Medicine Cabinet. In the press release, the company described the novel app as “a comprehensive solution designed to help consumers seamlessly manage their medications. Medicine Cabinet gives people easy-to-use tools to keep track of their prescriptions, get refills and daily pill reminders, find low prices, and earn rewards for staying on track. By making prescription management easier, smarter, and more relevant, Medicine Cabinet will better enable consumers to stay adherent to their treatment plans and manage their overall healthcare costs.”¹

The Medicine Cabinet app provides patients with daily reminders when it’s time to take medication, reminders about refills, information about savings and best prices for medications, and organizes and keeps track of prescription medications and access to the GoodRx rewards program. More information can be found here.

The company also indicated that available data from the app demonstrates that patients who used Medicine Cabinet were an estimated 4 times as likely to fill prescriptions at the pharmacy than nonregistered users, and in the first 6 months after using the app, users continued to fill more than 40% more prescriptions compared to those individuals who didn’t use the app.¹

Mark Hull, Chief Product Officer of GoodRx, stated, “It’s no secret that an important part of staying healthy is sticking to your prescribed treatment plan, but that’s often easier said than done. Tracking a variety of medicines and remembering when to take them is a real challenge. But for many Americans, it gets even harder juggling refills, navigating multiple pharmacies, and managing costs. With Medicine Cabinet, we are addressing these hurdles by making medication management easier and giving consumers more control over their prices, leveraging much of the prescription history consumers already have on GoodRx. While other solutions focus solely on alerts, with GoodRx’s Medicine Cabinet, you can actually save more money just by adhering to your medications.”¹

Viewpoints from Pharmacists and Patients About the Medicine Cabinet App

Retail Pharmacist stated, “I just read about the app, and it is a good idea because it helps patients, especially those taking multiple medications, to get reminders to take their medications. Everyone uses cell phones daily, and the app is a handy tool to improve adherence. In my years of clinical practice, I have found that patients who take an active role in their health tend to adhere to treatment plans and often have better clinical outcomes.”

Retail Pharmacist stated, “I recently recommended this app to a post-transplant patient who takes multiple medications throughout the day, and the patient had difficulty keeping track of all the medications. The daily reminders are beneficial to the patient and her family members. I think this app could benefit any patient who takes prescription medications because it has many valuable features and is free.”

Patient with diabetes stated, “I am not familiar with this app, but after I read about it, the app would be very helpful to me because I often get distracted and sometimes forget to take my medication on time. The daily dose reminder would be great for me."

Patient with hypertension and hypothyroidism stated, “My internist told me about GoodRx, and I recently signed up for the ap and it is beneficial because it helps me organize my medications in one place and since I started using it, I have not missed a dose or a refill on medications.”

Conclusion

Various publications demonstrated that factors that may augment the risk of nonadherence include the complexity of the drug regimen, frequency of dosing throughout the day, and the number of medications.^2,3 Data also shows that the use of digital tools can assist patients in improving adherence.⁴

GoodRx provides patients with a means to find the best prices for their medications, and the launch of the Medicine Cabinet app provides another valuable resource that may improve patient adherence and overall clinical outcomes while reducing direct and indirect costs for both the patient and healthcare system.

References

1. GoodRx unveils Medicine Cabinet, a Better way to manage all of your prescriptions. News release. BusinessWire. Published July 27, 2023. Accessed December 18, 2023. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230727785073/en/GoodRx-Unveils-Medicine-Cabinet-A-Better-Way-To-Manage-All-Of-Your-Prescriptions
2. Coleman CI, Limone B, Sobieraj DM, et al. Dosing frequency and medication adherence in chronic disease. J Manag Care Pharm. 2012;18(7):527-39. doi:10.18553/jmcp.2012.18.7.527
3. Wakai E, Ikemura K, Kato C, Okuda M. Effect of number of medications and complexity of regimens on medication adherence and blood pressure management in hospitalized patients with hypertension. PLoS One. 2021;16(6):e0252944. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252944
4. Mason M, Cho Y, Rayo J, Gong Y, Harris M, Jiang Y. Technologies for medication adherence monitoring and technology assessment criteria: Narrative review. JMIR Health. 2022;10(3):e35157. doi:10.2196/35157