medication mobile app :GoodRx

medication mobile app :GoodRx

Technological advances have led to the growing popularity of digital health records. In the previous decade, healthcare and other fields have experienced exponential growth of mobile applications. Advanced practice nurses need to well-informed on the basics of medical apps and their impact on the delivery of quality care and patient outcomes to optimize the benefits offered by the apps. One area that medical apps assist patients is adherence to medications. Poor or lack of adherence to prescribed medications negatively impacts patient outcomes (Brown et al., 2016). The use of prescription apps helps patients to save money by identifying pharmacies with the lowest prices for prescriptions within their locality. This paper examines the medication mobile app GoodRx with a focus on issues such as operation, aesthetic, purpose, privacy, and relevance, among others.

Part 1: Medical App Selection

(to be completed by the client)

Part 2: Medical App Critical Appraisal

Name and Author

GoodRx was founded in 2011 by Doug Hirsch, Trevor Bezdek, Scott Marlette, and run by a qualified team of experts. Its corporate headquarters are in Santa Monica, California. GoodRx provides prices and discounts for prescription drugs to enable users to save up to 80%. The app gathers current prices and discounts to help users find the lowest cost pharmacy for prescriptions (GoodRx, 2020).

Endorsement

Legit Script verified GoodRx as a legitimate online pharmacy. GoodRx has an A+ rating (gold standard) from Better Business Bureau and 4.8-star ratings on iTunes and Google Play app stores. GoodRx is the #1 rated medical app for iOS and Android. Currently, the app is not FDA approved but lists almost all FDA-approved drugs, which includes vaccinations. Over 325,000 healthcare professionals recommend GoodRx to their patients.

Operation

Web-based and mobile app are the two platforms available for using GoodRx. Both platforms serve the same purpose of assisting patients in finding the cheapest prescriptions, thus, improving adherence to medications. The mobile app and the website are both user-friendly. Interacting with both reveal that the mobile app more convenient, especially when fast results are needed.

Aesthetics

The mobile app is very user-friendly. After downloading the app, minimal directions are popping up, and one is ready to search for medications immediately. The simple search bar is clearly visible, and users type in it the drug they are seeking. The results come out almost instantly. A user can personalize the app to make it much easier to use. The website is user-friendly and contains much more information than the app (GoodRx, 2020). However, the additional content makes it a bit challenging to navigate the website compared to the app.

Purpose

The lack of regulation on prescription drugs in the United States makes the prices of prescriptions to vary across pharmacies (Christensen, Floyd & Maffett, 2020). In some cases, the price difference can be up to $100 between pharmacies in the same locality. Insurance complicates the problem by passing 25-80% of the cost of drugs onto patients. Estimates show that GoodRx saves an individual an average of $355 a year (GoodRx, 2020). GoodRx is a free to use app that is convenient as it does not require personal information. GoodRx can help people save money even when they have insurance and works for every member of a family that is including pets. A majority of insurance plans have high deductibles or limited formularies that do not cover the drugs a person may need. GoodRx may find a lower price than the insurance co-pay (GoodRx, 2020). Many generic medications are available at $4 or even free without insurance.

Clinical Decision Making

Patients seek and expect help from healthcare professionals regarding their health. The rapid shifts in healthcare insurance and prescription standards lead to many patients relying on healthcare professionals for advice on drug costs as well. GoodRx is a medical app that many health professionals to keep up to date with drug prices, making the app a contributor to better clinical decision making. Also, it ensures better health outcomes as a result of better medical adherence by ensuring the health cost burden is kept to a minimum by directing patients on where to access low drug prices (Brown et al., 2016).

Safety

GoodRx Pill Identifier is a tool that helps patients avoid adverse effects of misidentifying prescriptions at home. Pill Identifier allows users to identify medications by describing a few available details such as the color, shape, or imprints of the pill (GoodRx, 2020). Based on the information provided, the tool displays the name of the drug and a picture.

Privacy and Security

GoodRx respects the right to privacy and understands that its users need to control the uses of their private information. The app has a privacy policy that describes measures taken to protect users’ privacy in connection with their use of the mobile app (GoodRx, 2020). Besides, the mobile app developers have put in place measures to protect GoodRx and its users from unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure, or destruction of the information held. The app complies with industry-standard security measures to protect sensitive data. All cookies and passwords are encrypted.

User

A person goes to the home page in the GoodRx app and keys in the drug name in the search field and then click the “Find the Lowest Price” button to find savings at every pharmacy in America instantly. The app has a predictive and autocorrect feature that helps spell the name of a prescription. GoodRx coupons help people pay less than the cash price for their prescriptions. They are free to use and accepted at almost all pharmacies in the U.S. Pharmacists enter the codes on the coupons to pull up the lowest discount available. A person can present the coupon to the pharmacist by printing it, saving it in email or text, using the GoodRx app, or visiting the GoodRx website. Healthcare professionals use the app to be up to date with drug prices

Distribution

“GoodRx” is a trademark of GoodRx, Inc. and may only be used with the permission of GoodRx, Inc.

Credibility

GoodRx operates at the highest standard of health and medical reporting by presenting content that is up to date, accurate, comprehensive, and fair. Information on goodrx.com is thoroughly researched and fact-checked as possible. A medical editor with an MD, PharmD, or similar qualification in healthcare reviews all medical content pieces. Information is only sourced from credible news outlets, industry-leading medical organizations, academic institutions, and peer-reviewed scientific journals. Since the app is free for users, Goodrx money from advertisements on their sites and referral fees. The company only had one negative complaint filed between 2014 and 2017.

Relevance

There is growing frustration over healthcare costs in the U.S., making patients struggle to pay for their medications and healthcare in general. In the last quarter of 2019, 125 drugs increased in price (GoodRx, 2020). Furthermore, research shows that patients with certain conditions tend to pay more for their medications than other patients. On average, families spend an average of $20,000 per year on insurance premiums.

GoodRx is in a position to help patients save money but also empower them to make informed healthcare decisions. GoodRx’s mission is to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to all Americans. Medical articles on goodrx.com cover issues that matter to patients on drugs, and complex issues are broken-down to ease understanding in the hope of supporting people with their health and daily living. GoodRx continues to make a real difference for Americans struggling to navigate healthcare. GoodRx helps reduce the financial burden by promoting price transparency and shedding light on drug prices and healthcare costs overall. GoodRx researchers monitor drug pricing and fill trends to keep up to date.

Part 3: Patient Scenario

Mr. F is a 75-year old male living alone. He was diagnosed with depression six weeks ago and was prescribed Zoloft. Also, Mr. F is taking Lisinopril, medication for long-term hypertension, and oral vitamin pills. Two days ago, Mr. F called for assistance with what he described as an emergency. When the nurse got to his house, Mr. F had collected al his pills and placed them on a plate. Mr. F had accidentally slipped and fallen on the table spilling all the contents in his prescription bottles. He could not put the pills back to their respective bottles. The nurse easily put back the pills that had imprints such as Zoloft and Lisinopril, but for the vitamin pills, help was needed. The nurse then used to the Pill Identifier tool by GoodRx to identify the pills and place them in their respective bottles, which enabled Mr.F to take his medications as required without much delay (Brown et al., 2016). Otherwise, the nurse would have had to take a trip to the pharmacist to seek help to complete the task, with the delay potentially compromising Mr. F’s adherence to medication.