Taxonomy of Health IT and Medication Adherence

Health Policy and Technology, doi:10.1016/j.hlpt.2015.04.003

10 Pages Posted: 17 Apr 2015 Last revised: 18 Feb 2016

See all articles by Rafael Mrosek

Rafael Mrosek

University of Cologne

Tobias Dehling

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Ali Sunyaev

University of Cologne; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Date Written: April 15, 2015

Abstract

Background: Patients’ failure to take medication as prescribed – poor medication adherence – is a well-known issue. Health information technology (IT) presents itself as a promising approach to tackle poor medication adherence.

Objectives: To deepen the understanding of what features health IT offers and how these address poor medication adherence, we examine existing health IT targeting medication adherence.

Methods: Building on extant literature, we follow a systematic approach for taxonomy development in information systems to build a taxonomy of health IT focusing on medication adherence.

Results: Health IT offers various promising ways to address poor medication adherence. Overall, we map 16 different types of health IT offerings on 7 different dimensions. The principal results are that health IT should be developed in a patient-centered way because medication adherence is predominantly a matter of the patient and that mobile technologies are a seminal driver for health IT offerings focusing on medication adherence. Finally, the taxonomy identifies the core impacts of health IT on medication adherence.

Conclusion: The taxonomy establishes an overview of current health IT offerings targeting medication adherence, offers insights into untapped potential for health IT, and yields valuable insights for health policy and technology. Future efforts must, however, address how to continuously motivate patients and how to better integrate and combine health IT offerings to unfold the full potential of health IT for addressing poor medication adherence.

Keywords: Health IT, medication adherence, taxonomy, non-adherence factors, eHealth, medication compliance

JEL Classification: L86

Suggested Citation

Mrosek, Rafael and Dehling, Tobias and Sunyaev, Ali, Taxonomy of Health IT and Medication Adherence (April 15, 2015). Health Policy and Technology, doi:10.1016/j.hlpt.2015.04.003, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2595556

Rafael Mrosek

University of Cologne ( email )

Albertus-Magnus-Platz
Cologne, 50923
Germany

Tobias Dehling (Contact Author)

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology ( email )

Kaiserstraße 12
Karlsruhe, Baden Württemberg 76131
Germany

Ali Sunyaev

University of Cologne ( email )

Albertus-Magnus-Platz
Cologne, 50923
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.isq.uni-koeln.de

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology ( email )

Kaiserstraße 12
Karlsruhe, Baden Württemberg 76131
Germany

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