April 21, 2008

New Device Tracks Medication Adherence

Researchers at the University of Florida (UF) and health-monitoring and diagnostic company Xhale have developed a device that could help monitor antiretroviral drug adherence in HIV-positive people, the University of Florida news site reports (news.ufl.edu, 4/21).

The device will hopefully lead to new ways to increase drug adherence. According to Richard Melker, a professor at the UF College of Medicine and chief technology officer for Xhale, the best way to track adherence is through directly observed therapy (DOT), which would require HIV-positive people to visit a clinic each day and be monitored while taking their medications. However, the inconvenience of this method for both patients and medical staff has led the researchers to create a virtual DOT machine that can be used inside the home.

“The machine sits in your home and when it’s time for you to take your medication, it makes a beeping noise. If you don’t hit a button after about five minutes, it’s going to beep louder and louder until you come,” Melker said. “If you don’t come after a certain amount of time, the machine can call the clinical trial coordinator and indicate that subject or patient didn’t take the medication as prescribed.”

The machine would allow HIV-positive people to take a breath test to record the levels of medication in their bodies, which would be recorded on a memory card to be carried along to doctor’s visits.

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Previous Comments:

clark, , 2008-04-22 21:44:49
What a crock of bull spit. Leave it to the republicans to come up with another sceem to try and complicate our lives even more, thats all they have done for the last 8 years. Pray to god the democrats gain back control of washington or we will all be doomed.

Jae, Sydney, 2008-04-22 20:14:03
There could be value in this system for some people with problems with memory - if they like the idea. It may well assist people to live at home more independantly, or at least manage their meds. Who would bear the cost?

Jerry Robbins, , 2008-04-22 16:19:27
Another cramp in our style. Another thing to irritate us to a point that would make us rather die than take abuse from clinics. it is hard enough to deal with all the new rules to keep benefits, yet another thing to throw us over the edge.

David F, Miami, 2008-04-22 14:40:37
What a waste of money and resources. I have an alarm function on my cell phone. People can set alarm functions on watches and alarm clocks. And what happens after the clinic gets notified? Will non compliant people be refused medical help? Is there a magic number they hit and lose their insurance and medications?

Richard, , 2008-04-22 08:56:17
Sounds like this is for clinical trial use, and assumes that research subjects will always be at home when taking a dose. A similar device would be helpful for patients being treated for HIV, not just research subjects, because non-adherence plays such a big role in development of drug-resistant virus.