Florida Hospital is partnering with precision-medicine manufacturer Panaceutics to test an innovativesolution to the problem of medication adherence, focusing on patients with cardiovascular disease.

According to the American Heart Association, research shows that 24 percent of patients who suffer a heart attack do not fill their medications within seven days of discharge, and 34 percent of heart attack patients with multiple prescriptions stop taking at least one of them within one month of discharge. Lack of medical adherence is a factor in patients' quality of life and contributes to the rising cost of health care.

But with Panaceutics' proprietary compounding technology, rather than remembering to take a handful of pills, patients would have the option of taking their medications in a single, personalized, edible dose.

Panaceutics, which is based in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina and has business ties in Orlando, this month signed an agreement with Florida Hospital's Cardiovascular Institute. The agreement is a first step in exploring how to bring this innovation to Florida Hospital's patients.

"We are focused on the cardiovascular space because it's such a large population, and we believe our automation technology will allow us to personalize and get benefit out of generic compounds," said Pharmaceutics Chief Science Officer and co-founder L. Staton Noel III. "Our goal will be to show that with our method, adherence improves significantly. And when adherence is improved, outcomes go up for patients."

Janis Moysey, Director of Alliance Innovation Development for Florida Hospital, said the Panaceutics agreement is an important step in advancing Florida Hospital's mission to find innovative solutions to pressing health-care challenges.

Dr. Duane Davis, director of the Cardiovascular Institute at Florida Hospital, said he looked forward to exploring the options offered by Panaceutics' technology.