CVS Caremark, Behavioral Economics, Social Media, and Adherence

Yesterday, CVS Caremark announced an expansion on their research partnership with Harvard to include three people focused on behavioral economics and social media.  The focus of both these efforts is around prescription compliance (an almost $300B problem).

The work is going to be focused on three areas:

• Providing Appropriate Incentives: Research how appropriate financial incentives – in the form of lower copays and immediate up-front rewards – motivate consumer decisions to help improve health care behavior.
• Developing education tools: Determine how education materials and programs targeting consumers can be applied to persuade positive behavior that will affect meaningful change for patients.
• Tailoring Communications: Studying how specific messages resonate with individuals to promote improved health outcomes, adherence and personal care.