There are a ton of medication reminder apps in the app store. Medication reminders has been shown in some studies to help increase compliance. By association, one would think these individual mobile apps that send notifications would serve the same purpose. It would be interesting to see a study done using one of these apps to see if this is in fact true.
Medication nonadherence is a common, complex and costly problem that contributes to poor treatment outcomes and consumes health care resources. Nonadherence is difficult to measure precisely, and interventions to mitigate it have been largely unsuccessful.
Using smartphone adherence iPhone apps like “Assist Me with Inhalers” by Use-Inhalers.com represents a novel approach to improving adherence in Asthma & COPD patients. This readily available technology offers many features designed to help patients & healthcare providers improve medication-taking behavior.
Despite being untested, this medication reminder app represent a possible strategy that pharmacists can recommend to nonadherent patients and incorporate into their practice.