Mango Health goes live with medications and nutritional supplements tracker after pilot programme
After a 16 week pilot, Mango Health has unveiled a new mobile application that inspires people to better manage and improve their personal health.
For the four out of five US adults who take medications and nutritional supplements every week, taking medications correctly and understanding potentially dangerous interactions between drugs, supplements and even foods can be challenging.
Designed to make managing medications and nutritional supplements easier, safer and even fun, the Mango Health app rewards people for correctly following their doctor-prescribed treatment regimens with the chance to win gift cards from their favourite brands and make donations to leading charities.
The Mango Health app is based on game design principles that keep people engaged and motivated to change behaviour and improve their health over time. The app enables consumers to easily check for interactions between medications, supplements and foods on the go and sends reminders so no dose is missed. When medications are taken on time, points are earned that unlock the chance to win real world rewards.
Mango Health keeps a record of medications and supplements taken, creating a personal health journal and single destination for health history.
'Leading a healthy lifestyle doesn't just involve exercise and nutrition. Understanding how medications and supplements interact with each other and improving adherence to doctor-prescribed treatment regimens can make a significant impact on patient outcomes and reduce overall costs to the US healthcare system,' said Rahul C. Deo MD and PhD, a medical advisor to Mango Health and a physician on the faculty at the UCSF School of Medicine in San Francisco. 'Mango Health is a great tool for helping people stay on track with their personal health programmes.'
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, four out of five adults in the US now take a combination of prescription medications, over-the-counter drugs and nutritional supplements each week, yet most people are not aware of the risks from potentially dangerous interactions between medications, supplements and food.
At the same time, 75% of US adults do not take medications as prescribed by their doctors.
'Medication non-adherence costs the US Healthcare system $300 billion a year, a figure that is enough to provide health services to approximately 45 million additional Americans,' said Jason Oberfest, co-founder and CEO of Mango Health. 'We believe that for many people, better personal health starts with changing their behaviour around medication and supplement management – but they need inspiration to stick with it. Mango Health is built around game design to motivate people and keep them engaged with their personal health goals.'
Mango Health also announced that retailer, Target, will participate in the app's reward program with gift cards. The Mango Health app is available now as a free download on the Apple App Store.
