Improving adherence and outcomes in diabetic patients.

OBJECTIVE: Nonadherence in diabetes is a problem leading to wasted resources and preventable deaths each year. Remedies for diminishing nonadherence are many but marginally effective, and outcomes remain suboptimal.

AIM: The aim of this study was to test a new iOS "app", PatientPartner. Derived from complexity theory, this novel technology has been extensively used in other fields; this is the first trial in a patient population.

METHODS: Physicians referred patients who were "severely non-adherent" with HbA1c levels >8. After consent and random assignment (n=107), subjects in the intervention group were immersed in the 12-min PatientPartner game, which assesses and trains subjects on parameters of thinking that are critical for good decision making in health care: information management, stress coping, and health strategies. The control group did not play PatientPartner. All subjects were called each week for 3 weeks and self-reported on their medication adherence, diet, and exercise. Baseline and 3-month post-intervention HbA1c levels were recorded for the intervention group.

RESULTS: Although the control group showed no difference on any measures at 3 weeks, the intervention group reported significant mean percentage improvements on all measures: medication adherence (57%, standard deviation [SD] 18%-96%, SD 9), diet (50%, SD 33%-75%, SD 28), and exercise (29%, SD 31%-43%, SD 33). At 3 months, the mean HbA1c levels in the intervention group were significantly lower (9.6) than baseline (10.7).

CONCLUSION: Many programs to improve adherence have been proved to be expensive and marginally effective. Therefore, improvements from the single use of a 12-min-long "app" are noteworthy. This is the first ever randomized, controlled trial to demonstrate that an "app" can impact the gold standard biological marker, HbA1c, in diabetes.