AstraZeneca has partnered with the New Zealand-based company Adherium Limited to create a smart inhaler adherence program for patients. The agreement is designed to incorporate digital health offerings into AstraZeneca’s patient support programs for people with COPD and asthma. Adherium offers a Smartinhaler, a mobile-enabled inhaler that sends data when medication is taken to mobile devices and desktop computers via Bluetooth.

According to a MobiHealth News report, the platform is designed to help patients, caregivers, and physicians remotely monitor and manage patients’ adherence to their medication.

The program created by AstraZeneca for asthma and COPD patients will use smart inhalers to monitor a patient’s adherence in order to provide the patient with personalized advice based on their condition and medication use. The MobiHealth News report notes that the program will also likely incorporate additional sensors intended to monitor a patient’s condition and possibly assess a patient’s personalized risk factors in the future.

Fewer than 50% of asthma patients adhere to their prescribed preventative medications, according to Adherium. However, the company reports that in clinical trials, the smart inhaler increased adherence by up to 59% in adults and 180% in children with asthma.

The MobiHealth News report indicates that AstraZeneca also recently partnered with mobile-enabled health coaching services company Vida to launch the app Day-by-Day, which is designed to help patients recovering from a heart attack. The app is designed to speed up the patient’s recovery as well as help patients deal with trauma that they may experience after a heart attack.

Source: MobiHealth News