Use of Mobile Application for Improving Drug Compliance and Clinical Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Older adults are prone to multimorbidity and polypharmacy, which often lead to adverse outcomes such as increased hospital admissions and treatment nonadherence. Smartphone and internet use among older adults in India is rising, but its potential for addressing healthcare needs like multimorbidity management and drug adherence remains underexplored. The "Know Your Meds (KYM)" Creda Health mobile application (app) on the Google Play Store serves as a digital health assistant, offering features such as medication information, drug interaction insights, and pill reminders to improve health outcomes. This randomized controlled trial is aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the AI-based mobile app KYM in improving clinical outcomes, medication adherence, and patient satisfaction among older Indian adults.

In this randomized controlled trial, 360 participants with multimorbidity (aged > 60 years) were randomly allocated into intervention (n = 182) and control (n = 175) groups with the intervention group using the KYM app for 12 weeks, whereas the control group received standard conventional healthcare.

Although clinical outcomes like change in blood pressure, HbA1c, and lipid levels did not show a significant difference between the two groups, there was a significant difference in medication adherence at 12-week follow-up. However, no significant change was observed in patient satisfaction.

The study highlights the potential of mobile health apps in promoting adherence, though further research is required to evaluate their impact on clinical outcomes with more tailored interventions.