Opportunity 

Hypertension affects about 30 percent of adults in the United States and is a leading contributor to the global disease burden. Poor medication adherence contributes to inadequate control of hypertension. However, the value of adherence monitoring is unknown. 

Intervention 

A team of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania leveraged Way to Health to evaluate the impact of monitoring medication adherence on hypertension control. In a randomized controlled trial, 149 primary care patients with hypertension received usual care, monitoring and feedback with electronic pill bottles that transmit opening data, or monitoring with bidirectional text messaging for four months. 

Impact 

Despite good measured adherence, neither feedback with electronic pill bottles nor bidirectional text messaging about medication adherence improved blood pressure control. Adherence to prescribed medications was not improved enough to affect hypertension control or it was not the primary driver of poor control.