Document Detail


A simple, novel method for assessing medication adherence: capsule photographs taken with cellular telephones.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21844832     Owner:  NLM     Status:  In-Data-Review    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVES: : Medication nonadherence is an important factor in clinical practice and research methodology. Although many methods of measuring adherence have been investigated, there is as yet no "gold standard." We compared the usefulness and accuracy of a novel measure of adherence, photographs taken by cellular telephones with 2 incumbents: capsule count and the Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS).
METHOD: : Twenty subjects participated in a clinical trial of the efficacy of modafinil for the treatment of methamphetamine dependence. Subjects were issued cell phones and medication in MEMS Cap equipped bottles and were instructed to take 1 capsule a day for 8 weeks, recording adherence with both systems. Pill counts were recorded at weekly inpatient visits. Subjects were paid for participation and for each capsule photograph and the returned medication bottle with MEMS Cap.
RESULTS: : Capsule count-indicated adherence (proportion of prescribed medication taken) was 94.9%. When compared with capsule count, the novel method was found to underestimate adherence, whereas MEMS overestimated adherence. By using the dosing time data collected, we determined that subjects who dosed at a consistent time daily were more likely to adhere to the prescribed regimen. We also detected discrepancies in the timestamps recorded by MEMS.
CONCLUSIONS: : Capsule photographs are a useful measure of adherence, allowing more accurate time measures and more frequent adherence assessment than MEMS or capsule count. Given the ubiquity of cellular telephone use, and the relative ease of this adherence measurement method, we believe it is a useful and cost-effective approach.
Authors:
Gantt P Galloway; Jeremy R Coyle; José Enrique Guillén; Keith Flower; John E Mendelson
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of addiction medicine     Volume:  5     ISSN:  1932-0620     ISO Abbreviation:  J Addict Med     Publication Date:  2011 Sep 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-08-16     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  101306759     Medline TA:  J Addict Med     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  170-4     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
From the Addiction & Pharmacology Research Laboratory, California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, San Francisco, CA.
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Open-label pilot study of extended-release naltrexone to reduce drinking and driving among repeat of...
Next Document:  Illicit use of buprenorphine/naloxone among injecting and noninjecting opioid users.