Digital pills, also known as “smart pills,” use technology to track when certain medications are taken. In 2017, the FDA approved ABILIFY MYCITE, the first medication system to utilize an ingestible sensor to detect when a dose was taken.
How does it work? A small sensor inside the medication activates once it reaches the stomach. A wearable patch detects the signal and can send the information to a smartphone. With patient permission, the information can also be shared with a doctor or caregiver.
How Are Digital Pills Useful?
Medication adherence can be challenging, particularly for people taking multiple prescriptions or managing chronic conditions. Digital pills may help patients and healthcare providers better understand medication-taking habits and identify missed doses.
However, tracking a missed dose doesn’t necessarily solve the reason it happened. Cost, transportation, side effects, or simply forgetting can all make it difficult to take medication as prescribed.
What Are the Downsides?
Digital pills raise questions about cost, privacy, and convenience. Patients may not be comfortable sharing information about their medication use, and adding technology to a prescription could increase costs.
Digital pills are also a tracking tool, not a solution for every medication-related challenge. The technology continues to be studied, and ABILIFY MYCITE is currently listed by its manufacturer as not commercially available.
As digital healthcare continues to evolve, technology like this could become another tool for helping patients manage their medications.
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