NEWS
PATH TO ADHERENCE Recent studies show mobile apps’ promise to improve medication adherence
Perfect medication adherence has long been a holy grail of
someone to missed doses, and keep track of doses—didn’t help. All
healthcare—with promises of longer, healthier lives and fatter,
patients needed was a simple reminder.
healthier wallets for everyone. Nearly half of the four billion
“These apps seem to be an effective way to minimize
prescriptions filled each year aren’t taken as prescribed, which
forgetfulness by regularly reminding the patients about their
leads to increased re-hospitalization, mortality, and morbidity,
medications in a non-intrusive way, especially given that nowadays
costing an estimated $300 billion annually. And the less compliant
people usually have their mobile phones with them the majority of
patients are, the less medicine your pharmacy sells.
the time,” Santo said.
Various attempts have been made to reach the ever-evasive goal, from smart pill boxes to appointment-based models to
APPLYING THE APPS
making meds more affordable. Many of them have been effective,
How can pharmacists incorporate these findings into their routine
but each solution is only one road on the map to the destination.
care of their patients? “A pharmacy can always recommend the use
One of the latest paths is mobile applications. At least five
of a medication reminder app to its customers, especially those
studies in the past five years, including two last year, have revealed
who are prescribed long-term medications for chronic conditions,”
mobile apps’ promise to increase adherence. Unlike many previous
Santo said.
studies, last year’s were both randomized controlled trials, the
There are upwards of 700 medication adherence apps,
most credible type of study. One studied adherence in patients
according to a comprehensive review published this year in JMIR
with hypertension and the other studied patients with coronary
mHealth and uHealth. Narrowing the list down for patients will
heart disease. In both studies, those who used medication
save them a lot of time and stress. Using the correct search terms
reminder apps were more adherent than those who didn’t. This
will filter out a good portion of irrelevant results, the study said.
recent slew of studies could set the stage for adherence strategies
Instead of searching for “adherence” and “compliance,” look for
for independent pharmacists going forward.
“medication” and “pills,” which yield significantly more relevant results.
HOW THE APPS WORK
In the coronary heart study, patients were assisted in
Patients with strict regimens requiring several medications and
downloading the app, inputting their list of current medications,
multiple doses daily, like those with heart disease, are the main
and setting daily reminders. Pharmacists can help their patients
targets and beneficiaries of this mobile technology. Most of the
adhere to their medication by engaging in these tasks, which Santo
apps work by mitigating the effects of juggling so much all at once.
said were valued the most by the study’s patients. “Pharmacies
“As we know, forgetfulness is one of the main barriers to maintain good medication adherence, especially for those individuals taking long-term medications for chronic conditions,
should probably train their pharmacists to provide this initial training on how to use the app to their customers,” she said. Although much remains to be tested and discovered in the
such as cardiovascular diseases and coronary heart disease,” said
ever-evolving arena of mobile adherence apps, the studies show
Karla Santo, MD, who led the 2018 study on medication reminder
promise. And pharmacists have another tool to safely employ in
apps for patients with coronary heart disease.
the quest to keep their patients adherent and healthy.
In Santo’s study, published in Heart, patients were split into three groups: one using a basic medication reminder app, one an advanced reminder app, and one with no app at all. None of the participants had been using adherence apps before the study. After three months, the groups using a reminder app fared better than those who didn’t use an app. “Low adherence” decreased by 10 percent in the groups using the apps. However, the advanced features—such as the ability track adherence statistics, alert
Top Five Adherence Apps Medisafe Pill Reminder CareZone
MyTherapy Round Health Based on user ratings
ELEMENTS | The business magazine for independent pharmacy | JUNE 2019
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