Mobile Applications to Improve Medication Adherence: Existing Apps, Quality of Life and Future Directions

Abstract

The aims of the study were to review the literature within the last decade with regard to existing applications to improve non-adherence, quality of life, and to discuss the pros and cons of currently marketed mobile applications. Based on review of a total of 33 articles and reports, hundreds of medication-related applications were shown to be currently available on the market. The findings were categorized based on the pros and cons of the applications. Results revealed that various applications are helpful to facilitate patient adherence, yet the majority of them have similar functions. These functions consist of manual reminder alerts and access to sources for drug information. Limited studies were found related to quality of life. Observational studies that were retrieved focused on physiological factors, such as a decrease in hemoglobin A1c. The target populations for mobile applications included caregivers, the elderly, low literacy patients, low income individuals, and other patients. Current mobile applications have a beneficial impact on patients, caregivers, and health-care providers including pharmacists. Although there were some concerns regarding methods for using mobile applications, such as privacy issues, the majority of previous studies showed positive perspectives on mobile applications. Future research on compatible features is encouraged for improved mobile application use in healthcare.

Usability factors of mobile health application for chronic diseases

“…The main point of having an application is to facilitate users in viewing and/or managing their medical records in one place. Such features in applications may help increase patient health care outcomes as well as medication safety [11].…”

“…However, the majority of currently available m-health applications, impart little or no security [11]. Some of the modern applications, which retain personal health records, do not even provide a password for security.…”

Mobile Phone Apps Targeting Medication Adherence: Quality Assessment and Content Analysis of User Reviews (Preprint)

“…Users generally found apps to be userfriendly and appreciated the simple app design. These characteristics address existing barriers of difficult app navigation and the time consumption when inputting their medications [20,21]. Despite the previously expressed challenges including the inability to create reminders without Internet connection and for multiple people on numerous medications [20], our results reveal that currently, the majority of the apps (90% for Apple and 100% for Android) do not require Internet connection and include the ability to manage medications for multiple people and pets.…”

“…One of the reasons that could be associated with this frustration may involve search terms [20,22]. The quantity of adherence apps yielded by the search results varied significantly among keywords.…”

Pharmacy Assistant Mobile Application (PAMA): Development and Reviews

“…Nowadays, patients are less likely to get medical advice from doctors or medical experts [9] [10]. Research indicates 19% of smartphone users have at least one healthcare application on their mobile devices, and more than 52% have used their devices for accessing medication information or searching for advice on healthy living via the Internet [11].…”