Description of patient characteristics and medication adherence among medication access mobile application users and nonusers: a single-center questionnaire-based cross-sectional study

Abstract Background In this study, we aimed to describe patient characteristics and medication adherence among medication access mobile application users and nonusers. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of a randomly selected sample of patients who refilled their medications either through the mobile application ‘MNG-HA Care’ or by phone call to a government-funded multispecialty hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through an online survey and filed either via WhatsApp or by phone call. Medication adherence was assessed using the five-item Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5). Results A total of 280 respondents were recruited, and their mean age was 48.8 years (standard deviation (SD): 17.8). More than 75% of application users and nonusers were younger (18–64 years) and lived in urban areas, 58% were male, 37.5% held a bachelor’s degree, and 40% were unemployed. The number of respondents who accessed the mobile application (mobile application users) was 212, and 64.2% of them were adherent to their medications. Sixty-eight of the respondents used a phone call for refills (mobile application nonusers), and 77.9% of them were adherent to their medications. The most common self-reported reasons for using the application were to book an appointment and to request a medication refill. The most common self-reported reasons for not using the application were respondents’ lack of knowledge about the availability of the application and preference for speaking directly to the health care provider. Adjusted multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that medication adherence was not associated with application use (Odds Ratio (OR): 0.65; 95% CI: 0.33–1.29). However, male patients had significantly higher adherence than females (OR 2.68, 95% CI 1.31 to 5.51), and employed patients had significantly lower adherence than unemployed patients (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.81). Conclusions Providing patients with access to their medication list through a mobile application alone did not significantly impact medication adherence. Further research is needed to explore the potential benefits of incorporating additional features, such as medication instructions and reminders within mobile applications, to improve medication adherence.