Baltimore-based mobile health company recognized for medication adherence platform

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BALTIMORE, MD (February 20, 2017) --  emocha, a mobile health company whose video-based technology improves medication adherence, was named among Fast Company’s 2018 Most Innovative Companies. The Baltimore-based startup ranked number 9 out of 10 in the health category. 

The Most Innovative Companies list recognizes pioneering companies across 36 categories, from health to artificial intelligence to wellness. More than three dozen Fast Company editors, reporters, and contributors surveyed approximately 1,500 companies to create these lists.

“We are incredibly honored to be included alongside prestigious innovators such as Apple, Amazon, and CVS Health, in the Most Innovative Companies issue,” said Sebastian Seiguer, CEO of emocha. “Existing strategies  to improve medication adherence are inadequate or quite limited. emocha is immediately available and scalable across a variety of chronic conditions and infectious diseases in which medication nonadherence leads to serious health and financial consequences.”

Fast Company recognized emocha for its use of technology to improve medication adherence for the treatment of high priority health challenges, such as opioid use disorder, hepatitis C, and tuberculosis. Medication nonadherence leads to devastating health outcomes for patients and exorbitant costs for providers, payers, and health systems. Half of patients do not take medication as prescribed, which leads to more than $100 billion in avoidable costs. 

Patients use emocha’s mobile smartphone application to video record medication ingestion (or inhalation), report side effects, and receive medication reminders. Healthcare providers or emocha adherence coaches can assess data collected through a secure web portal, engage with patients through the application to provide additional support, and intervene quickly in the case of medication nonadherence or reported symptoms and side effects.

emocha has been clinically validated to help ensure high rates of adherence. For example, emocha helped to end a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in Puerto Rico wherein all patients completed treatment and those with active TB achieved 92 percent medication adherence, according to a report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Another CDC report showed that 59 of 61 patients using emocha’s platform achieved 100 percent medication adherence in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

“This year’s Most Innovative Companies list is an inspiring and insightful window into how many companies have embraced innovation and are working to make meaningful change,” said Fast Company deputy editor David Lidsky, who oversaw the issue with senior editor Amy Farley.

Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies issue (March-April 2018) is now available online at

www.fastcompany.com/MIC and in print beginning February 27.

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About emocha

emocha leverages technology licensed from Johns Hopkins University that delivers video directly observed therapy (DOT) to help people stay adherent to medication. Patients use a smartphone application to record videos of themselves taking each dose of medication and report any associated side effects. Providers assess patient data using a secure web portal and contact patients as needed. emocha works with public health departments, academic medical centers, payers and providers to secure adherence to tuberculosis, hepatitis C, HIV, and opioid use disorder treatment. Learn more at www.emocha.com.

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About Fast Company

Fast Company is the world’s leading progressive business media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethical economics, leadership, and design. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, one of the U.S.’s leading media companies.

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