Loneliness Kills: The Surprising Link Between Isolation and Medication Adherence

Loneliness isn't merely an emotional challenge—it's a clinical emergency hiding in plain sight. The latest research reveals a startling truth: feeling isolated carries the same health risks as smoking 15 cigarettes daily, profoundly impacting medication adherence and treatment outcomes for millions with chronic conditions.

A groundbreaking study from Playo and Pure Spectrum uncovers the alarming connection between social isolation and health management. Among 2,000 adults with chronic conditions, 81% report their health status contributes to loneliness, while 52% struggle with medication adherence specifically due to feeling alone. Most concerning, nearly half required emergency care for life-threatening events directly linked to isolation-related care management failures. For specialty medication patients, the statistics are even more troubling—80% experience increased loneliness after diagnosis, with 70% failing to take medications as prescribed.

What makes this crisis particularly challenging is that patients aren't seeking more clinical information—they're desperately craving human connection. Only 10% turn to healthcare providers during their loneliest moments, instead seeking comfort from family or online communities. Yet when offered peer support options, 70% express enthusiasm, with 89% believing such programs would reduce their loneliness and 72% reporting they would improve their medication adherence. This represents a critical opportunity for pharmaceutical companies to reimagine patient support beyond traditional educational materials.

Innovative solutions are emerging that blend technology with authentic human connection. Programs like Medisafe's Care Connector and Voice-activated agent, alongside Playo's Good Start program, demonstrate how empathy can be integrated into the patient journey at critical moments. These approaches don't just improve adherence metrics—they enhance quality of life while reducing healthcare utilization costs. 

Ready to transform how you support patients beyond the prescription? Listen now to discover how addressing the loneliness epidemic could be the missing piece in your patient support strategy, driving breakthrough improvements in adherence, outcomes, and quality of life for those who need it most.

PostScripts Rx is not intended to constitute medical advice, nor is it intended to influence prescribing decisions or any other medical or clinical decision-making. All medical and clinical judgment and decision-making, prescribing decisions, and all related considerations remain exclusively the responsibility of providers and patients.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 0 (00:00):
Welcome to Postscripts, the podcast
exploring what happens after thefirst prescription.
We cover the latest innovationsin patient access support,
digital tools, HCP engagementand pharma marketing that we all
hope drive better outcomes forpatients.
This podcast is forinformational purposes only and
does not constitute medicaladvice or should it be used to
influence any clinicaldecision-making.

(00:20):
Patients should always consulttheir healthcare professionals.
Welcome to the podcast.
My name is Brian Carr from theMedisafe team, although any
opinions expressed here are myown and are not necessarily
those of Medisafe or itspartners.
So let's take a look at thehidden epidemic loneliness and
its deep impact on patienthealth.
Today's episode we're divingdeep into the groundbreaking new

(00:40):
study released by our friendsat Playo, in partnership with
Pure Spectrum, that shines alight on one of the most
underapp.
Groundbreaking new studyreleased by our friends at Playo
, in partnership with PureSpectrum, that shines a light on
one of the mostunderappreciated threats to
patient health, and that isloneliness.
While commonly viewed as asocial or emotional issue,
loneliness is increasingly beingrecognized as a serious public
health concern with real,measurable impacts, especially

(01:01):
in chronic disease care.
So this episode is especiallytimely for pharma brand
marketers and innovation teams,patient access leaders, as it
points to a new yet criticallever in improving adherence and
outcomes the human connection.
So let's look at the science ofloneliness.
More than an emotional state,the data confirms what people,
what public health officials,have been warning for years

(01:22):
Loneliness isn't just unpleasant, it's actually dangerous.
According to a study published,american psychologists the
health effects of loneliness areequivalent to smoking 15
cigarettes a day.
And there's a study here fromPlayo.
We'll give you the link to thePlayo study that you can
download in the show notes.
But loneliness has been linkedto increased risk of
cardiovascular disease, weakenedimmune function, raised

(01:45):
inflammatory markers, elevatedrisks of depression and
cognitive decline, prematuredeath.
But here's where it gets mostrelevant for brand and access
leaders.
Loneliness is directlyinterfering with patients'
ability to adhere to medicationsand engage in their own care.
Key findings from this PLEOstudy, where they surveyed 28,

(02:06):
I'm sorry, 2,000 US adults whohad chronic illnesses, and some
of the insights are prettystartling 81% said their chronic
condition contributed to theirfeelings of loneliness.
74% said that the lonelinessnegatively affected their
physical health.
More than half, 52% experiencedissues with medication
adherence due to loneliness.
Almost 60% said lonelinessdecreased their motivation to

(02:29):
even see a doctor.
Four out of 10 admittedloneliness keeps them from
picking up prescriptions.
And even more alarming 46% ofthe respondents when loneliness
related health deterioration hadrequired emergency care for
life-threatening events tieddirectly to their inability to
manage their condition.
So let's look at specialty medsand that deepened emotional
tolls, people on specialty meds,who often face complex regimens

(02:53):
, costly therapies, long-termdisease management.
They do report the most severeimpacts Eight out of 10
experienced a spike inloneliness after their rare
diagnosis and seven out of 10reported failing to take
medications as prescribed.
Another eight out of 10described their pharmacist
relationship as purelytransactional.
So when we consider that theseare often the patients with the

(03:14):
highest risk profiles clinicallyand economically, it really
does become clear that theemotional dimensions of care
really need to move front andcenter.
So this causes information gapsand support deficits.
So, beyond the missed doses andskipped appointments,
loneliness really does adverselyaffect how patients process and
retain critical healthinformation.
The survey found, you know, ofthose on specialty meds, seven

(03:35):
out of 10 struggle to rememberimportant details, even when
they're shared.
At a diagnosis, 84% wish theyhad someone to help retain or
reinforce the information.
So this information breakdownnot only impairs adherence but
also makes it harder forpatients to really navigate the
complexities of their diseaseand treatment plan.
Patients want that humanconnection.
That's part of what CLEoprovides.

(03:56):
They don't just want clinicalcontact, and that study really
uncovers this profound insight.
They're not just cravingmedical answers, they're
yearning for a connection.
Only 10% of those surveyed saidthey turned to their healthcare
provider when experiencing peakloneliness.
Most of them go to familysocial media, online forums.
It's not because they distrusttheir care teams, it's because

(04:18):
they can't reach them or theresponse feels really impersonal
.
More than half of the patientscomplain that providers are
frequently too busy or slow torespond.
So there could be a case herefor peer-to-peer patient support
.
So when asked about peersupport programs you know where
trained peers they'veexperienced similar conditions
engaged with patients theresponse was pretty overwhelming
.
Seven out of 10 said they'd beopen to receiving phone calls

(04:40):
from peers via a pharmacist.
89% of those said it wouldreduce feelings of loneliness.
72% said they'd be more likelyto take meds correctly.
So peer support isn't justoutreach, it's really emotional
intelligence support fromindividuals many of whom may
have been there, maybe speak thesame language who can make
adherence feel more personal andprescribed.

(05:01):
So when you think of the role ofpharma companies here and it
really is a call to action.
It really does point to apivotal opportunity for pharma
industry really evolve beyondthe standard patient comms and
take the lead on humanizing careat vulnerable points in the
patient journey.
That could be diagnosis orspecialty meds, programs like
Medisafe's Care Connector andDigital Companion and Playo.

(05:21):
They have their Good Startprogram that blends empathy with
curated pharmacy outpoints.
They really do show what'spossible when nurses and care
support teams do have that humanconnection.
And then even with Medisafe Via, which is Medisafe's
voice-activated agent wherepatients can get a phone call on
patient support or symptomchecks and even, you know, calls

(05:44):
to action to download certainapplications, really can be done
with a human-centric AI agentthat really does feel like a
human talking and talkingthrough.
If complications arrive duringthe call, they can connect to a
human right away.
Together tools can really drivebreakthrough value, not only in
adherence metrics but inquality of life, resource
utilization and long-termoutcomes.
So I'll give a link to thestudy at the end of this.

(06:05):
But turning loneliness reallycan turn into a manageable
challenge.
It's time to really stoptreating loneliness as that
secondary concern and reallyrecognize it as a primary factor
in health journeys.
And the data does make crystalclear.
Loneliness can be associatedwith costs personal, emotional
and economic and interferes withcare routines.
Adherence, especially for thecomplex treatments.

(06:26):
Patients want to be heard,especially by someone who
understands.
So you know scale withtechnology, support with
authenticity.
The loneliness is one of themost preventable.
It's preventable barriers toadherence and optimal care, and
we have the data, the tools tomeaningfully address it.
So thank you for joining us onPostscripts.
If you found this conversationvaluable, follow or subscribe
for more insights at theintersection of pharma

(06:48):
technology and patient impact.
We will reach out to thePlayout team and try to get more
information from them and havethem on the podcast as a guest.
Maybe we could talk even morein depth on the study.
I'll leave the link to it inthe show notes.
It's definitely worthwhilestudy by that team.
Till next time, keep lookingforward.
The real work begins after thescript is written.