Helping Patients Adhere to Clinical Trial Protocols

Jul 27, 2020 by CenTrial



Some patients, for whatever reason, will stop taking their medications during the course of a trial, which compromises the trial data and may affect the patient's health. Missing doses can lead to drug resistance and accidentally doubling doses can be toxic.

Pill Connect is an innovative way to remind patients to take their medications on schedule and to let the contract research organizations (CROs) know that patients have complied.

The system consists of an app and a reusable dispensing cap. Once installed on the patient's smartphone, the app provides remote, real-time dosage monitoring capabilities.

Patients are sent a reminder when it is time to take their dose. They tap on the 'dispense' button which causes the automatic Pill Connect cap to eject the correct dosage. A signal is then sent to the CRO to show the medication has been dispensed.

If the patient doesn't respond to the alert, they can be sent a text message or called directly. Patients also have the option of responding to the alert with other feedback like they don't feel well, or the medication is making them feel sick.

To further encourage patient compliance, the app's dashboard can give them feedback on how they are doing and compare their progress to other participants.

As well as making remote, decentralized studies more feasible, this system could go a long way to lowering costs and achieving better clinical trial data.

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