By Khizer Seo 
Non-adherence to medications is a serious problem for health systems all over the world, working against effective treatment and patient safety. Non-adherence leads to preventable increases in hospitalizations and harm to chronic conditions and direct and indirect costs throughout the world each year add up to billions of dollars wasted due to the problem. As technology becomes more inclusive, new and exciting applications of Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare will offer transformative possibilities that are needed to address this ongoing issue. A major development in this space is to use IoT-Enabled Smart Pills which are connected medication systems with the ability to confirm correct, complete, and timely ingestion of medicines if medications exist as a smart pill option.
An experienced IoT Development Company is necessary to develop and deploy these complicated smart pill ecosystems. The latter deploys wireless connectivity, sensor technologies, data analysis, and other real-time monitoring methodologies to collect and utilize data and information that will transform how medication management will work for patients, family caregivers, and health care workers.
The IoT-Enabled Smart Pill system is comprised of medication (or solid dosage form) conceivably with integrated sensors or as a connected dispenser that connects or communicates to mobile apps and cloud systems. These “smart” solutions monitor medication dispensing, ingestion, and physiologic response to the medication itself, creating a fully reusable platform to expand Healthcare IoT Solutions beyond mere reminders or provider-controlled dispensing of medication.
Smart pills may even be ingestible sensors signifying when the medication has reached the stomach while connected pill dispensers therefore monitor medicines scheduled and alert patients to missed doses. Added mobile apps may provide additional capability for ongoing communication, distant monitoring of adherence by clinicians, and predictive analytic sharing for adherence.
- Ingestible Sensors
Smart pills contain biocompatible, small sensors that activate after the pill has been ingested. The sensors interface with wearable patches or smartphones that provide a confirmation that the pill has been ingested with fidelity.
Smart Pill Dispensers
- IoT-enabled smart pill dispensers release the correct doses at the scheduled times and record when pills are dispensed. Advanced dispensers have safeguards embedded within them to prevent overdosing in the event a caregiver is dispensing or recommunicating doses and notify caregivers if missed doses have occurred.
Smart Cup Technology
- Smart cups with IoT connectivity use accelerometers and gyroscopes and proximity sensors to detect pill ingestion. Smart cups confirm actual ingestion has occurred and are beneficial if a patient removed their pill, but did not ingest it, and assists in avoiding planned noncompliance and unplanned noncompliance, as verified by the patient or caregiver.
Mobile Applications
- Connected apps are used to remind patients to take their medications, record the event of ingestion, notify a family member or provider if a dose is missed, and assist in prompting refills. Apps serve as a digital connector to be used in between incident of physical medication administration.
Cloud analytic platforms
- Cloud based solutions serve to consolidate the data collected to monitor adherence patterns to medications. AI powered analytics identification adherence patterns or data by identifying lessen-stated risks, and as it’s best practice, provide personalized recommendations around how to improve the effectiveness of treatment plans.
How IoT-Enabled Smart Pills Improve Medication Adherence
In contrast to traditional reminder systems, IoT smart pill solutions verify that pills were actually taken through sensor data, thus closing an adherence gap caused by forgetting or willfully withholding dosing.
Patients can receive alerts in real-time via connected devices and healthcare team members and caregivers can receive alerts when doses are missing or delayed, allowing targeted follow-up to occur.
IoT-enabled dispensers can prevent double dosing of medication since, when dose intervals are programmed, the dispenser does not release the dose until that dose interval has expired and therefore eliminates risks as a result of unintentional overdosing.
IoT adherence data for medication can be downloaded to cloud platforms for summarizing over time. Then, the cloud data baselines serves an opportunity for visualizing and understanding behaviors as it relates to taking medications and service adjustments as needed and intervention when behaviors arise that deviate from baseline which generally implies an adherence lapse.
IoT-enabled smart pill technologies can empower independence in self-management that improves overall quality of life, distance or minimize caregivers to help track medication and adhere to medication taking protocols with their loved ones elderly to chronic illness.
For chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, or cardiovascular problems, it is essential that a patient follows their medication schedule exactly. Sensors in IoT smart pill devices can confirm doses have been taken and send intelligent alerts if they are not taken according to their prescribed pattern.
Older patients often have physical or cognitive challenges associated with following medication schedules. Smart pill dispensers that make use of IoT technology can facilitate independent living through medication automation and notifying caregivers in the event of missed medications.
For psychiatric medications, adherence to a medication schedule is directly correlated with treatment success and relapse prevention. IoT smart pills enable clinicians to remotely monitor patients’ medication consumption and make necessary adjustments to the patient’s medication as needed.
IoT smart pill technologies enable pharmaceutical companies to collect compliance data about the patient’s compliance during clinical trials. This data can improve confidence in the clinical trial and regulatory compliance.
IoT smart pill technology created for children’s medicine can help caregivers and pediatricians confirm that children adhere to their medication schedule during long-term treatment or antibiotics.
To provide a comprehensive view of the current state of practice, the major Healthcare IoT Solutions summarize the successful IoT platform:
- Strong Sensor Integration: Within a health care system, internal biocompatible ingestible sensors and external compliance aggregation devices, are integrated securely, dependably.
- Interoperable Communication Protocols: Communication through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC), and cellular technology creates interoperability with devices, mobile platforms, and cloud systems.
- Intuitive Interfaces: Interfaces are highly accessible for patients – upon readmittance/movement along the care continuum. The care provider has intuitive interfaces with the patients, regardless of technical expertise.
- Secure Cloud Systems: Secure analysis and cloud storage systems that are compliant with HIPPA and GDPR to keep sensitive medication adherence data private.
Although IoT-enabled smart pills represent major advancements, a number issues continue to exist:
- Data Privacy: As sensitive patient data traverses an ecosystem of IoT-enabled devices and cloud networks, it is of paramount importance to have strong data encryption and compliance to data protection laws.
- Technical Reliability: Every component of the IoT-enabled system must work together seamlessly. This is especially true for ingestible sensors designed to work safely within a human body.
- Patient Consent and Autonomy: The use of IoT-enabled systems to track patient adherence to treatment plans will require informed consent processes that allow patients to exercise their autonomy in exchange for real-time adherence data.
With ongoing developments in technology, smart pill systems will become much more intelligent, individualized, and predictive. Some possible areas of future development could include:
– Biometric-Assisted Pills: Possibly in the future, smart pills could also measure biometrics (e.g., blood pressure, glucose) while the pill is swallowed to provide the patient with immediate feedback regarding therapeutic effectiveness.
– Integration with Wearables: Development of smart pills and wearables will be further expedited through the emerging Internet of Things (IoT), which would collectively create what might be referred to as all-encompassing health tracking and compliant adherence data collection.
– Augmented Reality (AR): AR applications may provide visual guidance to patients during medication management, supporting their engagement, understanding and compliance.
Smart Pills are IoT-Enabled and are the next evolution of medication adherence that combine sophisticated sensing, connectivity, and analytics to transform how an individual takes medicine and how a provider manages therapy and medical therapeutics. Smart Pills provide real-time verification of ingestion, smart notifications, safe dispensing, and use data analytics to fill significant gaps in medication management.
Healthcare organizations can leverage the complete Healthcare IoT Solutions to design seamless, scalable smart pill ecosystems that help patients and caregivers while providing additional opportunities for clinical oversight. To build solutions effectively, engaging expert Software Development Services firms is critical to successfully integrate commonly available IoT, cloud development platforms, mobile applications, and data analytics into meaningful and easy to use products.
The future of medication adherence is in inclusive, connected systems—where each pill is monitored and verified by a smart pill, barcode, or other identifiable tracking, each dose is taken without question, and each patient becomes more engaged and empowered to take ownership of their health using technology as a trusted partner.
networkesblog