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STUDY SAYS MEDICATION EVENTS MONITORING SYSTEM PROVIDES LIMITED ADHERENCE INFORMATION
16 March 2001 - Boston University
| Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine have shown that the Medication Events Monitoring System, devices that electronically monitor medication adherence, is limited in providing detailed accurate information. The study, which appears in the March 2001 issue of AIDS and Behavior, shows that the complexity of the regimen, patient lifestyle factors, and the use of adherence aids such as pill boxes prove to be obstacles in the use of MEMS as an adherence measurement tool. |
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine have shown that the Medication Events Monitoring System, devices that electronically monitor medication adherence, is limited in providing detailed accurate information. The study, which appears in the March 2001 issue of AIDS and Behavior, shows that the complexity of the regimen, patient lifestyle factors, and the use of adherence aids such as pill boxes prove to be obstacles in the use of MEMS as an adherence measurement tool. The study, which was conducted in part in the General Clinical Research Center at BUSM, as part of a project supported by the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, assessed adherence of antiretroviral medications using MEMS caps, as well as by patient self-report over a two-week period. Accurate means of assessing a patient's adherence to antiretroviral medications is imperative since HIV will mutate to a drug-resistant strain if medication is not taken strictly according to schedule. "Adherence researchers were optimistic with the development of MEMS in 1986, however, efforts to facilitate adherence such as special pill boxes, desire to conceal medication use, and to avoid obtrusive pill bottle caps, prove to be obstacles in the use of MEMS as an adherence measurement tool," says lead author Jeffrey Samet, MD, an associate professor of medicine and public health at Boston University School of Medicine. "The living situation of a patient can have an impact on medication adherence, and requirements for medication storage like refrigeration when achieved by use of ice, resulted in MEMS cap malfunction." The study also noted that if MEMS is to be considered consummate technology, then changes in hardware and its use must be considered. Decreasing the size of the device, making it easier to be carried would appeal to many patients, as well as combining the device with diary measures to indicate what was done at each opening (e.g., opened at 7:00 am to remove all doses for the day). Since pillbox use is the most compromising situation for the use of the MEMS, the study suggested that technology should develop to have a computer chip in each compartment of a pillbox to record the date and time. "In the absence of these advances, MEMS caps are not ideal for many patients in clinical care," said Samet. "We must consider alternatives to this measure of adherence."
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