Tag: Medication

State Awards Company $5 Million To Test Medicines With Artificial Intelligence

GATC West Virginia, a health tech hub, was awarded $5 million to hire new staff. The company uses artificial intelligence to test the efficacy of new medications.

As overdose rates continue to rise nationally, a health company with West Virginia ties will soon receive $5 million in state funds to further research on substance use disorders.

GATC West Virginia — an in-state hub of the health technology company GATC Health — will use the new investment to develop medical treatments through artificial intelligence.

The company uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict how effective and safe new medicines will be, and to preemptively identify side effects.

New treatments must still be tested using clinical trials. But GATC claims using simulations can increase the likelihood of a medication’s success and expedite the development process.

Provided by the West Virginia Economic Development Authority and West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust, the new funding will allow GATC to hire tens of new employees at their location in Morgantown.

In a Friday press release, Gov. Jim Justice said the collaboration would put West Virginia at the forefront of developing health technology.

“West Virginia is leading the way in revolutionizing the pharmaceutical industry and making a huge difference in medicine discovery,” Justice said. “This initiative places West Virginia on the map as a leader of innovation as we bring cutting-edge technology right to our backyard to find effective medicines.”

Medication Guidance And A Visit To Virginia Farm Foggy Ridge, This West Virginia Morning

n this West Virginia Morning, Virginia’s first modern apple cidery Foggy Ridge helped launch a craft cider industry in Virginia, but while the cider business closed in 2018, the farm stayed open. Owner and orchardist Diane Flynt now sells apples to other cider makers and has a new book out. Radio IQ’s Roxy Todd visited Flynt’s farm in Southwest Virginia and has this story.

On this West Virginia Morning, Virginia’s first modern apple cidery Foggy Ridge helped launch a craft cider industry in Virginia, but while the cider business closed in 2018, the farm stayed open. Owner and orchardist Diane Flynt now sells apples to other cider makers and has a new book out. Radio IQ’s Roxy Todd visited Flynt’s farm in Southwest Virginia and has this story.

Also, in this show, with the closing and consolidation of pharmacy chains and independent retailers, patients are left wondering where to go for guidance and their medications. Emily Rice has more.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Want People to Take Their Medication? Don't Charge Them.

Medication adherence – or lack of it is a really big deal in healthcare. A 2017 review in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that Americans not taking medicine as prescribed caused 125,000 deaths, 10 percent of hospitalizations and cost the healthcare system between $100–$289 billion a year. But a new study has found an easy fix for the problem.

Basically? Charge people less. The study published this month in Health Affairs found that the more patients have to pay for their prescriptions, the less likely they are to take them as directed.

But when insurance plans charge patients less for the medications they most need, patients filled their prescriptions more often. Although it costs insurance companies more for patients to take their prescribed drugs more regularly, the overall cost of insuring a patient didn’t rise and, in some cases, even fell – likely because when people are taking their medicine they are less likely to be hospitalized or have complications related to their disease.  

The study focused mostly on patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol and asthma. The study’s authors said more insurance plans are moving toward this model of drug coverage, but that as more people opt for high-deductible plans, further legislation is needed to make sure patients can access expensive essential medications for less before they meet their deductible.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Marshall Health, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

UC Pharmacy Students Advocate for Prescription Medicine Adherence

Three out of four people do not take their medication as directed, and one out of three people never fill their prescriptions, according to the national medication adherence campaign Script Your Future. Health professional students, including pharmacy students from the University of Charleston, are trying to increase awareness about the issue.

Over the past two months, the UC pharmacy students have held 23 Script Your Future events. These include alternative spring break trips, seminars on yoga for disease management, healthy meal planning for disease management, and a Run for Women’s Health 5k. This is the fourth year UC pharmacy school students have participated in the campaign.

According to MeilssaBuse, a fourth year UC pharmacy student, There are main four reasons people don’t take medications as prescribed, says fourth-year UC pharmacy student Melissa Buse: (1) they don’t understand how medication works; (2) they’re worried about side effects; (3) they can’t afford prescriptions; and (4) they forget to take their medications.

Yet non-adherence is dangerous and costly. Approximately 290 billion dollars are spent each year in avoidable healthcare costs related to medication non-adherence (i.e., emergency department visits, hospitalizations and pharmacy costs), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Research published late last year for the national Script Your Future campaign found that improved communication between patients and healthcare providers does lead to more patients taking prescribed medications as directed.  

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

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