Testing a Smart Medication Dispenser (Mobili®) to Help People With Chronic Conditions Take Their Medicine

Medication non-adherence is a critical challenge for global health systems, with evidence suggesting that up to half of patients may not follow their prescribed medication. Given the rates of medication non-adherence and its detrimental effects on health outcomes and health systems sustainability, numerous Dose Administration Aids (DAA) interventions have been developed. Most of them are packaging and dosage modifications, either in single and manually prepared dosette boxes, or in multidose automated dispensing (MAD) systems, prepared in community or hospital pharmacies. However, in spite of their success, most MAD are cumbersome and lack long-term sustainability.

In an era where digital health technologies are reshaping healthcare delivery, this project introduces Mobili® in Portugal, a portable MAD system developed by the Norwegian start-up Medthings. Mobili combines portability, automated dose dispensing and real-time monitoring, facilitating a more manageable medication regimen for chronic patients.

This research project aims to explore the effectiveness of Mobili on medication adherence among chronic multimorbidity patients and its adaptability in a different health system. Achieving these aims will provide valuable insights into the deployment of technology-driven interventions in actual healthcare settings, potentially transforming digital adherence solutions for chronic patients. The CFIR 2.0 Implementation Research framework will guide the development of the research tasks.

The project comprises four tasks:

• Project management and dissemination;
• Training of participating pharmacists, and collection of feedback on adaptability to the Portuguese context, through focus groups prior to the implementation of the intervention;
• Assesing Mobili's efectiveness on medication adherence, through a randomized control trial (RCT) comparing Mobili users with a control group using existing DAAs;
• developing a protocol for a future large-scale study based on tasks 2 and 3 findings.

Task 3 will also assess secondary outcomes like patient satisfaction and quality of life through interviews, using both quantitative and qualitative methods for a comprehensive intervention evaluation. The insights gained during this project will lay the groundwork for a detailed study protocol to fully assess Mobili's effectiveness in enhancing medication adherence across Europe.

This project's findings will contribute to better understand the impact of digital health interventions on medication adherence, patients' health and healthcare systems' efficiency, and will be valuable to researchers in medication adherence and implementation science. The project also holds substantial scientific and commercial potential, through:

• the deliver of a research protocol for a large-scale study to assess Mobili's clinical and economic value to European health systems
• initial insights into a disruptive DAA service business model.

The successful real-world application of the project's outcomes could enhance medication adherence and patient management, promoting a culture of adherence within the community, significantly improving care quality and generating economic benefits for patients and health systems.

The project's success strategy centers on three pillars:

• leveraging the diverse expertise and experience within the team, with a strong support and commitment from the manufacturer of Mobili;
• integrating Design Science with participatory action research to enhance stakeholder engagement;
• establishing a core management team to enable a strong collaboration between scientific and clinical expertise, through regular project meetings.

The multidisciplinary research team, comprising experts in pharmaceutical services innovation, information system research, health communication, and organizational development, brings a wealth of experience from previous studies in pharmacy services, healthcare management, and digital medication adherence tools.

Inclusion criteria

• Aged 18 years and above
• Non-institutionalized diabetes and cardiovascular disease patients
• At least two medications in the therapeutic regimen
• Requiring only regular oral medication that can be dispensed in the eDosette
• Able to handle the use of technological devices (i.e. smartphones)

Exclusion criteria

• Cognitive impairments preventing independent use of Mobili®
• Patients using medicines that do not fit or are incompatible with being dispensed in the eDosette (i.e. some capsules, solutions, insulins or GLP-1 analogues, transdermal patches, eye-drops)
• One participant per household