Geisinger and Merck & Co. have developed two EHR based programs named MedTrue and the Family Caregiver to improve adherence to medications, help providers and patient care and reduce drug errors. As these two apps are entering into market they have become a popular discussion topic with a few health IT companies.

Julie Rockey, the Strategic Program Director who leads this collaboration said, “We’re taking what we’ve built at Geisinger over the last several years and looking to make it available to the broader marketplace.”

The MedTrue app has integrated data on medications from varied sources like prescription fill data, to provide a verified list of medications for each patient.

Mike Evans, Geisinger’s VP of enterprise pharmacy and chief pharmacy officer, said "We know from prior work that about 70% of our medication lists are inaccurate, and these inaccuracies can lead to medical errors; The MedTrue application provides an interface that seeks to clean up medication lists, so patients and providers can be on the same page regarding medication use and better care decisions can be made."

The Family Caregiver application includes a shared calendar which would help staff members to set up procedures and medication doses for patients. This app also gathers contact details of providers to help patients as their treatment progresses.

These apps were designed to be integrated into varied EHR platforms, where the patients and caregivers could access them through a web portal.