Research analysis of various medical adherence applications by the University of Arkansas Medical School for the American Pharmacist Association. Israeli startup Medisafe was found to be the #1 solution.

1. In the US, medication nonadherence costs more than $100
billion annually. Medication adherence applications (apps) are
a new resource to help patients manage their medication
regimens and potentially improve adherence. However, there
are hundreds of medication adherence apps making it difficult
for patients and providers to identify quality apps. In 2012, an
initial study found 160 medication adherence apps available to
consumers.
• The medication adherence app market has more than
doubled in the past two years and continues to offer apps
with high variability in terms of app quality
• No app possessed all desirable author-identified features;
however, several apps were highly rated across all four
domains
• Sharing this information with healthcare providers and
consumers could enable them to find a quality app that may
improve their medication adherence
• 461 medication adherence apps were initially identified across the three marketplaces
• 367 apps were available for evaluation after removing Lite/Trial versions and apps that were specific to a
single medication or disease state
• The mean initial score based on the product description was 26.7 and ranged from 23-47 (max of 68)
• Of the 100 apps eligible for testing, 19 were excluded because they failed to produce medication reminders
or could not be installed by at least one author, which included all of the Blackberry apps, leaving 81 apps
for testing
• The mean user-tested score was 27 and ranged from 13-50 (max of 68)
• Compared to the initial scores, 39 (48%) user-tested scores increased, 35 (43%) user-tested scores
decreased, and 7 (9%) user-tested scores were unchanged
Navigating the Flooded Adherence App Marketplace:
Rating the Quality of Medication Adherence Apps
Catherine Renna, Rebecca Shilling, Seth Heldenbrand, PharmD, Lindsey Dayer, PharmD, BCACP, Bradley C. Martin PharmD, PhD
• Online marketplaces (iTunes, Google Play, and Blackberry
App World) were searched for medication adherence apps
during June of 2014
• Inclusion criteria: English language apps capable of
generating medication reminders
• Apps limited to a single disease state or medication were
excluded
• 28 author-identified desirable app features were divided into
four domains and assessed from developer descriptions
• Each feature was assigned a score based on their importance
in their respective domain (1-modest; 2-moderate; 3-high)
• Apps with Lite/Trial versions were treated as one product
• The 100 highest scoring apps were eligible for testing and
were evaluated by two authors against developer claims
• Each app was evaluated over a four day period using a
standardized six drug regimen: vitamin E once daily,
diltiazem twice daily, simvastatin once daily at bedtime,
azithromycin once daily for three days, prednisone three day
taper, and alendronate once weekly
• Apps were then re-ranked based on user-tested score
CONCLUSIONS
• Development of a searchable adherence app website in order
to alleviate the frustrations of identifying quality apps in the
online marketplaces
• App effectiveness could be diminished if designed without
health literacy in mind; therefore, the addition of a health
literacy domain could help in identifying apps with the
highest patient usability
• To assess the smartphone medication adherence app market
by evaluating available apps based on descriptions in the
marketplace and testing the performance of the highest-
scoring apps against developer claims
• Dayer L, Heldenbrand S, et al. Smartphone medication
adherence apps: potential benefits to patients and
providers. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2013; 53( 2): 172– 81
RESULTSBACKGROUND
OBJECTIVES
METHODS
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
REFERENCE