Non-adherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment is a barrier to effective TB control. We investigated the effectiveness of a Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS) as a tailored adherence-promoting intervention in Morocco. We compared patients who received a MEMS (n = 206) with patients who received standard TB care (n = 141) among new active TB patients with sputum smear-positive. The mean total medication days were 141.87 ± 29.5 in the control group and 140.85 ± 17.9 in the MEMS group (p = 0.7147), and the mean age and sex were not different between the two groups (p > 0.05). The treatment success rate was significantly higher in the MEMS group than in the control group (odds ratio (OR): 4.33, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.13–8.81, p < 0.001), and the lost to follow-up rate was significantly lower in the MEMS group than in the control group (OR: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.05–0.24, p < 0.001) after adjusting for sex, age, and health centers. The mean drug adherence rate in the first month was significantly higher in the MEMS group than in the control group (p = 0.023). MEMS increased TB treatment success rate and decreased the lost to follow-up rate overall for infectious TB patients in a Moroccan rural area.

In Morocco, there are challenges in the management of high-risk tuberculosis (TB) patients, including paper-based management and a shortage of healthcare workers related to TB. Additionally, TB management has not been accounted for in various patient types, which affects treatment adherence. This study aims to examine the delivery model of TB management and the outcomes of an integrated patient management system that uses a patient-centered and community-based approach, along with mobile health technology. A total of 3605 TB patients were enrolled in this program in Morocco’s five prefectures (Rabat, Salé, Kénitra, Khemisset, Skhirat–Témara) from January 2018 to December 2019. Patients were managed based on demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, areas (rural or urban), health literacy levels, and distance to primary health centers. Our mobile health intervention “smart pillbox” was interposed with high-risk TB patients, along with patient education. The rate of successful treatment was 92.2%, which was higher than the national rate (88%). The “lost to follow-up” rate was 4.1%, which was significantly lower than the existing non-adherence rate of 7.9%. Therefore, integrated patient management for TB patients in Morocco is more effective than the existing conventional programs. This comprehensive approach provides an alternative method for countries with limited resources.

Background Digital health technologies have been used to enhance adherence to TB medication, but the cost-effectiveness remains unclear. Methods We used the real data from the study conducted from April 2014 to December 2020 in Morocco using a smart pillbox with a web-based medication monitoring system, called Medication Event Monitoring Systems (MEMS). Cost-effectiveness was evaluated using a decision analysis model including Markov model for Multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB from the health system perspective. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per disability adjusted life-year (DALY) averted. Two-way sensitive analysis was done for the treatment success rate between MEMS and standard of care. Results The average total per-patient health system costs for treating a new TB patient under MEMS versus standard of care were $398.70 and $155.70, respectively. The MEMS strategy would reduce the number of drug-susceptible TB cases by 0.17 and MDR-TB cases by 0.01 per patient over five years. The ICER of MEMS was $434/DALY averted relative to standard of care, and was most susceptible to the TB treatment success rate of both strategies followed by the managing cost of MEMS. Conclusion MEMS is considered cost-effective for managing infectious active TB in Morocco.

Background Poor adherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment can result in community transmission and drug resistance. Digital health technologies have been used to enhance adherence to TB medication for proper management, but the cost-effectiveness of this approach remains unclear.Methods We used the real data from the study conducted from April 2014 to December 2020 in Morocco to enhance the adherence to drug-susceptible TB treatment using a smart pillbox with a web-based medication monitoring system, called Medication Event Monitoring Systems (MEMS). We applied a Markov model adding Multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB to evaluate the costs and cost-effectiveness of MEMS, compared to the standard of care (modified directly observed treatment and intervention) from the health perspective. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per disability adjusted life-year (DALY) averted. We also performed two-way sensitive analysis between treatment success rate of MEMS and standard of care. Results The average total per-patient health system costs for treating a new TB patient under MEMS versus standard of care were $398.7 and $155.7, respectively. The MEMS strategy would reduce the number of drug-susceptible TB cases by 0.17 and MDR-TB cases by 0.01 per patient over five years. The ICER of MEMS was $434/DALY averted relative to standard of care, and was most susceptible to the TB treatment success rate of both strategies followed by the managing cost of MEMS.Conclusion MEMS is considered cost-effective for managing infectious active TB in Morocco.