Mobile app increased medication adherence to 81%, developer says

HAIFA, Israel — The makers of a new app say that it increased users' medication adherence rate to more than 80%.

The MediSafe Project said Tuesday that users reported medication adherence rates of 81%, while the rate was 84.25% for patients using statins.

According to post-launch data collected over eight weeks, users of the MediSafe Project recorded taking their drugs on time at a rate 31% higher than the World Health Organization's estimated average adherence rate of 50%. The app, launched in November 2012, is described as the first "pillbox app" that cloud syncs users' failure to take medication on time to their friends, family and caregivers.

"Medication adherence is a persistent and elusive problem, interrupting patients' well-being, costing health providers and insurers billions annually and causing preventable deaths," MediSafe Project CEO Omri Shor said. "MediSafe Project's involvement of patients' loved ones and caretakers is providing itself a breakthrough in reducing the harm that comes from medication nonadherence."

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