Remote Usability Testing and Satisfaction with a Mobile Health Medication Inquiry System in CKD

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Digital Health
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Inappropriate medication use is a significant concern in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patient care.
• A mobile health (mHealth) tool was developed to address safe medication usage in CKD.
• The study evaluated the feasibility and usability of this novel mHealth system.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the feasibility of a simple mobile health tool for advising CKD patients on safe medication use.
• To assess the usability and user satisfaction of a medication inquiry system across different mobile platforms.

Main Methods:

• Usability testing of a novel medication inquiry system was conducted with predialysis CKD patients (eGFR<60 ml/min per 1.73 m(2)).
• Participants used either short messaging service (SMS) text or a personal digital assistant (PDA) for medication queries.
• User satisfaction was assessed via a survey after protocol completion.

Main Results:

• All participants owned a mobile phone; smartphone ownership was low.
• The system demonstrated high accuracy with only three recorded errors out of 60 medication queries.
• Overall user satisfaction was high, with slightly greater satisfaction reported for the PDA platform.

Conclusions:

• The mHealth medication inquiry system is easy to use and well-accepted by individuals representative of the CKD population.
• This tailored mobile health technology holds promise for enhancing medication safety in CKD.
• Further development and implementation of such tools could significantly benefit CKD patient management.