Aetna researches reward plan to entice patients to use medications correctly
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
August 6, 2008
The Aetna Foundation's non-profit health plan is researching the idea of paying patients to take their medications correctly, reports American Medical News. With the University of Pennsylvania, the health plan is curious to see if patients will take their medications correctly for cash rewards.
The trial involves two groups of 50 patients, one group that has been told they have a 1-in-10 chance of winning $10 and 1-in-100 chance of winning $100 if they take their prescribed warfarin correctly; another group has just been told to take their warfarin correctly with no incentive. The trial will test whether the group with the chance of winning a prize takes their medications more diligently than the control group. An electronic monitor will measure if participants took their medications.
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