Adherence to Polypharmacy in Patients With Opioid Substitution Therapy Using Electronics

Remote-controlled Dispensing of Medication and Electronic Monitoring of Adherence in Ambulatory Patients With Opioid Dependency Syndrome and Polypharmacy - a Feasibility Trial

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02701660

Acronym

APPOSTEL

Enrollment

Registered

2016-03-08

Start date

2014-11-30

Completion date

2016-08-30

Last updated

2018-04-18

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Substance-Related Disorders

Keywords

Pharmaceutical Care, Adherence, Polypharmacy, e-Health, opioid substitution therapy

Brief summary

Electronic dispensers for polypharmacy are used in home care to assist patients with their medication management and to improve adherence. Opioid dependent patients with substitution therapy often exhibit multiple risk factors for non-adherence. The increase of both the age and associated comorbidities in this population demand for innovative solutions to optimize medication management. The investigators developed a novel medication supply model with an automated electronic medication dispenser to simultaneously assist opioid dependent patients with their medication and objectively monitor their adherence. This study aims to demonstrate the feasibility of the new supply model.

Interventions

DEVICEelectronic medication dispenser (medido)

Automated dispense of medication through an electronic dispenser

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* written informed consent given * reading and writing skills in German * Stable housing situation in the canton of Basel-City and adjacent communities * Accessibility by phone * Minimum duration in opioid substitution treatment for 2 months * Polypharmacy (\> 3 solid oral medications) * Routine monitoring of clinical parameters less than 1 week before inclusion or agreed within 1 week from inclusion * Insured with Swiss health insurance

Exclusion criteria

* opioid substitution treatment with Diacetylmorphine * \> 2 drugs, which can not be packaged in pouches (eg liquids)

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Taking Adherence (Number of days with correctly dispensed pouches (%)	continuous, up to 24 weeks	Number of days with correctly dispensed pouches (%)

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Patients' specific routine parameters according to condition(s) of participant (composite outcome)	up to 24 weeks	Individual clinical outcomes, eg blood pressure, blood sugar, HIV count...
Psychological distress	inclusion, week 12, 24, 36	SCL-90R self-report questionnaire
Quality of Life	inclusion, weeks 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 36	SF-12 self-report questionnaire
Timing adherence (number of correctly dispensed pouches within predefined time-frame (%)	continuous, up to 24 weeks	number of correctly dispensed pouches within predefined time-frame (%)
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living	inclusion, week 12, 24, 36	Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (Lawton-Brody)
Cognitive Impairment	inclusion, week 12, 24, 36	Montreal Cognitive Assessment
Satisfaction	week 12, 24, 36	self-report questionnaire, interview

Countries

Switzerland

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026