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Mobile Phone Apps to Improve Medication Adherence: A Systematic Stepwise Process to Identify High-Quality Apps
Karla Santo1,2, Sarah S Richtering1, John Chalmers1,2
1The George Institute for Global Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth
|December 4, 2016
Summary
Many medication reminder apps exist, but most lack desired features and quality. This review identified high-quality mobile health apps to improve medication adherence.
Area of Science:
- Digital Health
- Mobile Health (mHealth)
- Health Informatics
Background:
- Growing number of mobile apps aim to improve medication adherence.
- Limited understanding of feature variation, quality, and effectiveness among these apps.
Purpose of the Study:
- Systematically review medication reminder apps in Australian stores.
- Assess app features and quality to identify high-quality options.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review with stepwise approach: search, eligibility, selection, data extraction, analysis, and quality assessment.
- Utilized the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) for quality evaluation.
- Classified apps into basic and advanced categories based on features.
Main Results:
- 272 medication reminder apps identified; Google Play apps showed more reviews, higher ratings, and lower cost.
- Median of 3.0 features per app; only 18 apps had ≥9 desirable features.
- 54.8% classified as advanced; high-quality apps were interactive, customizable, intuitive, and visually appealing.
Conclusions:
- Majority of available medication reminder apps are of low quality due to limited features.
- Systematic review identified high-quality apps for future medication adherence studies.
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