New River Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand.
J Telemed Telecare. 2012 Apr;18(3):156-8. doi: 10.1258/jtt.2012.SFT108. Epub 2012 Feb 23.
We conducted a pilot study of a personal medication reminder unit, supported by a monitoring service. A total of 31 elderly residents were offered the reminder service for a period of eight weeks (1736 person-days of service). A telephone call from the monitoring service was made after four weeks to check that each participant was happy with the service and keen to continue. No one opted out and users of the service found it easy to manage, helpful and acceptable. There was a significant improvement (P = 0.012) in the rate of self-assessed medication compliance, from pre (52%) to post (81%) service introduction. There was a significant improvement in people's perceived ability to look after themselves at home (self-care ability) (P = 0.001). The percentage of participants rating their ability to look after themselves at home as excellent increased from 42% to 68%. Health-related quality of life measures, such as physical and mental health, showed positive improvement, but the changes were not significant. The service has the potential to improve health and well-being outcomes for people on multiple medications living independently in the community.
我们进行了一项个人用药提醒器的试点研究，该提醒器得到了监测服务的支持。共有 31 位老年居民接受了为期八周（1736 人天）的提醒服务。在四周后，监测服务会打电话给参与者，以确认他们对服务感到满意，并希望继续使用。没有人选择退出，而且使用该服务的人发现它易于管理、有帮助且可以接受。在服务引入前后（分别为 52%和 81%），自我评估的药物遵守率有显著提高（P = 0.012）。人们在家中自我照顾的能力（自我护理能力）也有显著提高（P = 0.001）。将自己在家中照顾自己的能力评为优秀的参与者比例从 42%增加到 68%。与健康相关的生活质量衡量标准，如身心健康，也显示出积极的改善，但变化并不显著。该服务有可能改善独立生活在社区中的、需要服用多种药物的人群的健康和幸福感。
