Study Demonstrates Smart Pill Bottles Can Improve Pharmaceutical Interventions for Cancer Patients
A smart pill bottle platform improved medication adherence and patient satisfaction among a small sample of patients with multiple myeloma, according to a paper in the November 2019 issue of the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy.
Researchers reported that median medication adherence was higher among those provided the smart pill bottle (100 percent versus 87 percent; p = .001), with the lowest adherence rate within the study group at 92 percent.
In addition, in a post-study survey, 60 percent of program participants rated the full smart pill bottle program very positively.
The annual cost of the smart pill bottle platform came to $1,210 per patient, and when paired with the 13 percent adherence improvement it represents a $96 incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per percentage adherence.
The researchers wrote, “While the study population was small, we postulate that other disease states with oral medication therapy requiring tight dosing windows, complicated dosing regimens or those with low adherence rates may benefit from smart pill bottles and pharmacist-led patient outreach programs.”
Study Finds Smart Pill Bottles Effective in Tracking Patient Behavior When Combined with Other Sources
Another study in the July 2020 issue of JAMIA Open examined the effectiveness in tracking medication adherence rates of oral anticoagulant medication adherence among 160 patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) over six months. The researchers utilized multiple data sources: a smart pill bottle, which was used to track pill bottle openings, and e-prescribing software, which was used to track medication refills.
Both the e-prescribing software and the smart pill bottle reported high adherence rates in the sample of patients with AF (90.0 percent and 88.8 percent, respectively).
The researchers wrote, “Overall, the tracking technologies worked relatively well to track patient medication behavior; however, they did not capture exceptions. Overall, our study suggests that triangulating data from different sources…is critical for gathering accurate data on medication adherence.” In addition, they suggested that “more research into the daily integration of smart pill bottles in the routines of chronically ill patients is necessary.”
AllazoHealth: Advancing Omnichannel Patient Marketing
In addition to smart pill bottles, artificial intelligence (AI) can also help boost therapy initiation and adherence. AllazoHealth’s pioneering AI treats each patient as an individual by personalizing their medication experience. By harnessing the power of predictive analytics and triangulating data from a variety of sources, we help pharmaceutical manufacturers tailor the channel, message, and frequency used for each patient throughout their patient support programs, achieving a significant improvement in patient outcomes and maximizing the impact of pharmaceutical marketing and patient support.
