The age-old problem of patient non-compliance, which costs the global pharmaceutical industry $630 billion per annum, the NHS around £500 to £800 million per annum, and the US health systems $250 billion per annum, has never been solved by human only means. It is now time to augment human activities using the latest technology solutions, available to life science and healthcare for the first time. Why do patients not take their medication correctly? Physicians don’t have time to educate patients, and many don’t have the communication skills to achieve this; in the average 6-minute consultation, patient behaviour doesn’t change plus it’s more difficult to see physicians post Covid-19. A staggering 50% of patients don’t complete prescribed drug courses or take them properly. Not only does this patient non-compliance seriously affect health outcomes, it also significantly reduces the lifetime value of brands. While market share remains even harder to grow and is complicated by a declining available audience, consider what is lost though non-compliance and how reducing that decline can have a huge effect on market shares. The more the patient understands, the better the outcome. One of the main factors to better patient compliance and outcomes is for the patient to fully understand why they have been prescribed a particular product or medical device, and what it will achieve for them. They also need to be competent in how to take the medication and confident that, whatever the journey, for example side effects, they will achieve the best results by taking the full course of prescribed medication in the right way. Additionally, for a patient to have a good grasp of the disease/therapy area from medically approved sources, the better their understanding and belief in the treatment. The best patient outcomes are about behaviour. Digital Humans enable patients to understand and learn new behaviours, which for many with chronic conditions cannot be overlooked, for example, a newly diagnosed diabetic or asthmatic faces a huge ‘life change’ and in the typical 6 minutes they have with a physician, are very unlikely to understand what it all means. Patient’s minds are in a state of concern, even panic, considering all the negative views and often differing opinions they may have read on the internet. They have medical support brochures of course, but with an average reading age of 9 in the UK and United States for example, many will not understand even the basic medical content. It can take many weeks or months to change a lifetime of certain behaviours, and frequent returns to their doctor or nurse for more advice is a frustration for everyone, more so with post-covid-19 appointment issues. Even at follow-up appointments, some patients will not ask the right questions, for example “will I put on weight if I take this?” or “will it affect my sex drive?”. Questions like that, if left unanswered, will likely increase the risk of non-compliance. We must further consider the negative effects of internet blogs by unqualified ‘lay people’ that can undermine approved clinical information. We see more and more unqualified ‘influencers’ making claims that have no clinical basis or evidence; these claims worry patients with dis-information. Pharma and healthcare providers need to protect against this to ensure the patient gets the full and honest facts, based on 10-15 years of research that will enable most patients to have successful outcomes through full compliance. Helping patients achieve better health outcomes. Digital Human technology is designed to improve patient outcomes by significantly reducing patient non-compliance to prescribed medication. The technology enables patients to access comprehensive, understandable, compliant, and consistent information, conversation, and support, on demand 24/7 about products and therapy areas, so that they understand the importance of taking the full course of medication and how to take it properly. This technology is reactive by answering patient questions and offering them access to educational support, but also ‘proactively’ connecting with the patient on a prescribed number of occasions to see how they are progressing, helping them understand better, and answering any questions or concerns. So how can we achieve the best health outcomes? Let’s not keep doing want we’ve always done – the technology innovation to help is here now – Science Fact not Fiction! Ian Welburn is Founder and CEO of Ecoutai Limited.