Direct Oral Anticoagulant (DOAC) is a type of "blood thinner" used to treat heart conditions such as Atrial Fibrillation (AF), an abnormal heart rhythm. Discover how a recent study is helping to improve medication adherence to DOAC.
DOAC is the current standard of care to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with AF, yet studies showed that one in four patients have poor adherence to it. The shorter half-lives and lack of reliable laboratory tests to measure adherence to DOAC can expose such patients to a higher risk of stroke.
The EMRISTA (Emerging Markets Thrombosis Investigator- Initiated Research Program) grant by Pfizer was established to fund innovative medical research across Pfizer's emerging markets, including Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. We were awarded the EMRISTA 2018 grant to study the Internet-of-Things (IoT) Smart Film Medication Adherence System, a solution aimed at improving medication adherence to DOAC in patients with AF.
The solution comprises low- cost disposable Bluetooth- enabled printed circuit boards posted onto the back of drug blister packs that are paired with "Correct Pill", a smartphone app.
Besides reminding patients to take their medication on time, it also detects individual pill dispensing through the blister pack. Supervised by A/Prof. Mark Chan, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiology, NUHCS, the Smart Film system has been tested in our pilot study using atorvastatin, and has shown to improve LDL- cholesterol level.
By: Dr. Sim Hui Wen
