With more than 1 billion users having access to mobile broadband Internet and a rapidly growing mobile app market, all stakeholders involved have high hopes that this technology may improve health care. Expectations range from overcoming structural barriers to access in low-income countries to more effective, interactive treatment of chronic conditions. Before medical health practice supported by mobile devices ("mHealth") can scale up, a number of challenges need to be adequately addressed. From a psychological perspective, high attrition rates, digital divide of society, and intellectual capabilities of the users are key issues when implementing such technologies. Furthermore, apps addressing behavior change often lack a comprehensive concept, which is essential for an ongoing impact. From a clinical point of view, there is insufficient evidence to allow scaling up of mHealth interventions. In addition, new concepts are required to assess the efficacy and efficiency of interventions. Regarding technology interoperability, open standards and low-energy wireless protocols appear to be vital for successful implementation. There is an ongoing discussion in how far health care-related apps require a conformity assessment and how to best communicate quality standards to consumers. "Apps Peer-Review" and standard reporting via an "App synopsis" appear to be promising approaches to increase transparency for end users. With respect to development, more emphasis must be placed on context analysis to identify what generic functions of mobile information technology best meet the needs of stakeholders involved. Hence, interdisciplinary alliances and collaborative strategies are vital to achieve sustainable growth for "mHealth 2.0," the next generation mobile technology to support patient care.

Background Recent changes to the Food and Drug Administration boxed warning for metformin will increase use in individuals with historical contraindications or precautions. Prescribers must understand clinical outcomes of metformin use in these populations. Purpose To synthesize data addressing outcomes of metformin use in populations with type 2 diabetes and moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease, congestive heart failure, or chronic liver disease with hepatic impairment. Data Sources MEDLINE (via PubMed) from January 1994 to September 2016; Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts from January 1994 to November 2015. Study Selection English-language studies that examined adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease with eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73m2, congestive heart failure, or chronic liver disease with hepatic impairment; compared diabetes regimens that included metformin to regimens that did not; and reported all-cause mortality, major adverse cardiovascular events and other outcomes of interest. Data Extraction Two reviewers abstracted data and independently rated study quality and strength of evidence. Data Synthesis Based on quantitative/qualitative syntheses involving 17 observational studies, metformin use is associated with reduced all-cause mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease, congestive heart failure, and chronic liver disease with hepatic impairment, and reduced heart failure readmission in patients with chronic kidney disease and congestive heart failure. Limitations We identified low strength of evidence and sparse data on multiple outcomes of interest. Available studies were observational and had varying follow-up durations. Conclusions Metformin use in patients with moderate chronic kidney disease, congestive heart failure, or chronic liver disease with hepatic impairment is associated with improvements in key clinical outcomes. Our findings support recent changes in metformin labeling. Registration PROSPERO CRD42016027708 Funding Source U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Background Given the high prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD), primary care physicians (PCPs) frequently manage early stage CKD. Nonetheless, there are challenges in providing optimal CKD care in the primary care setting. This study sought to understand PCPs’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to the optimal management of CKD. Study design Mixed methods study Settings and participants Community-based PCPs in four US cities: Baltimore, MD; St. Louis, MO; Raleigh, NC and San Francisco, CA. Methodology We used a self-administered questionnaire and conducted 4 focus groups of PCPs (n = 8 PCPs/focus group) in each city to identify key barriers and facilitators to management of patients with CKD in primary care. Analytic approach We conducted descriptive analyses of the survey data. Major themes were identified from audio-recorded interviews that were transcribed and coded by the research team. Results Of 32 participating PCPs, 31 (97%) had been in practice for >10 years, and 29 (91%) practiced in a non-academic setting. PCPs identified multiple barriers to managing CKD in primary care including at the level of the patient (e.g., low awareness of CKD, poor adherence to treatment recommendations), the provider (e.g., staying current with CKD guidelines), and the health care system (e.g., inflexible electronic medical record, limited time and resources). PCPs desired electronic prompts and lab decision support, concise guidelines, and healthcare financing reform to improve CKD care. Conclusions PCPs face substantial but modifiable barriers in providing care to patients with CKD. Interventions that address these barriers and promote facilitative tools may improve PCPs’ effectiveness and capacity to care for patients with CKD.

Medication adherence is crucial for success in the management of patients with chronic conditions. This study analyzes whether a mobile application on a tablet aimed at supporting drug intake and vital sign parameter documentation affects adherence in elderly patients.Patients with coronary heart disease and no prior knowledge of tablet computers were recruited. They received a personal introduction to the mobile application Medication Plan, installed on an Apple iPad. The study was conducted using a crossover design with 3 sequences: initial phase, interventional phase (28 days of using the app system), and comparative phase (28 days of using a paper diary). Users experienced the interventional and comparative phases alternately.A total of 24 patients (12 males; mean age 73.8 years) were enrolled in the study. The mean for subjectively assessed adherence (A14-scale; 5-point Likert scale, from “never” to “very often” which results in a score from 0 to 56) before the study was 50.0 (SD = 3.44). After both interventions there was a significant increase, which was more pronounced after the interventional phase (54.0; SD = 2.01) than after the comparative phase (52.6; SD = 2.49) (for all pairs after both interventions, P <0.001). Neither medical conditions nor the number of drug intake (amount and frequency of drug taking) per day affected subjective adherence. Logging data showed a significantly stronger adherence for the medication app than the paper system for both blood pressure recordings (P <0.001) and medication intake (P = 0.033). The majority of participants (n = 22) stated that they would like to use the medication app in their daily lives and would not need further assistance with the app.A mobile app for medication adherence increased objectively and subjectively measured adherence in elderly users undergoing rehabilitation. The findings have promising clinical implications: digital tools can assist chronic disease patients achieve adherence to medication and to blood pressure measurement. Although this requires initial offline training, it can reduce complications and clinical overload because of nonadherence.

BACKGROUND: Effective co-management of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) between primary care physicians (PCPs) and nephrologists is increasingly recognized as a key strategy to ensure the delivery of efficient and high-quality CKD care. However, the co-management of patients with CKD remains suboptimal.

Several reports show that patients with chronic disease who are empowered with information technology (IT) tools for monitoring, training and self-management have improved outcomes, however there are few such applications employed in kidney disease. This review explores the current and potential uses of health IT platforms to advance kidney disease care by offering innovative solutions to inform, engage and communicate with individuals with CKD.

Few investigations have evaluated the incremental usefulness of tubular injury biomarkers for improved prediction of chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression. As such we measured urinary kidney injury molecule-1, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, N-acetyl beta-D-glucosaminidase and liver fatty acid binding protein under highly standardized conditions among 2466 enrollees of the prospective Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort Study. Over 9433 person-years of follow-up, there were 581 cases of CKD progression defined as incident end stage renal disease or halving of the estimated glomerular filtration rate. Levels of the urine injury biomarkers, normalized for urine creatinine, were strongly associated with CKD progression in unadjusted Cox proportional-hazard models with hazard ratios in the range of 7 to 15 comparing highest to lowest quintiles. However, after controlling for the serum creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate and urinary albumin/creatinine ratio, none of the normalized biomarkers was independently associated with CKD progression. None of the biomarkers improved upon the high (0.89) C-statistic for the base clinical model. Thus, among patients with CKD, risk prediction with a clinical model that includes the creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rate and the urinary albumin/creatinine ratio is not improved with the addition of renal tubular injury biomarkers.

PurposeOne of the key problems in the drug therapy of patients with chronic conditions is drug adherence. In 2010 the initiative iNephro was launched (www.inephro.de). A software to support regular and correct drug intake was developed for a smartphone platform (iOS). The study investigated whether and how smartphone users deployed such an application.MethodsTogether with cooperating partners the mobile application “Medikamentenplan” (“Medication Plan”) was developed. Users are able to keep and alter a list of their regular medication. A memory function supports regular intake. The application can be downloaded free of charge from the App Store™ by Apple™. After individual consent of users from December 2010 to April 2012 2042338 actions were recorded and analysed from the downloaded applications. Demographic data were collected from 2279 users with a questionnaire.ResultsOverall the application was used by 11688 smartphone users. 29% (3406/11688) used it at least once a week for at least four weeks. 27% (3209/11688) used the application for at least 84 days. 68% (1554/2279) of users surveyed were male, the stated age of all users was between 6–87 years (mean 44). 74% of individuals (1697) declared to be suffering from cardiovascular disease, 13% (292) had a previous history of transplantation, 9% (205) were suffering from cancer, 7% (168) reported an impaired renal function and 7% (161) suffered from diabetes mellitus. 69% (1568) of users were on <6 different medications, 9% (201) on 6 – 10 and 1% (26) on more than 10.ConclusionA new smartphone application, which supports drug adherence, was used regularly by chronically ill users with a wide range of diseases over a longer period of time. The majority of users so far were middle-aged and male.