There is potential for mHealth tools to better facilitate adherence to chronic disease management , but the evidence supporting its current effectiveness is mixed .
BACKGROUND Adherence to chronic disease management is critical to achieving improved health outcomes , quality of life , and cost-effective health care .
As the burden of chronic diseases continues to grow globally , so does the impact of non-adherence .
Mobile technologies are increasingly being used in health care and public health practice ( mHealth ) for patient communication , monitoring , and education , and to facilitate adherence to chronic diseases management .
OBJECTIVE We conducted a systematic review of the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of mHealth in supporting the adherence of patients to chronic diseases management ( " mAdherence " ) , and the usability , feasibility , and acceptability of mAdherence tools and platforms in chronic disease management among patients and health care providers .
Blood pressure telemonitoring is useful to achieve blood pressure control in inadequately treated patients with arterial hypertension
Failing to reach blood pressure ( BP ) goals is one of the main problems in hypertension management . Especially in high-risk patients , intensive monitoring including frequently office visits or new techniques to monitor home BP is required . A total of 60 patients with uncontrolled hypertension were included and r and omized into a group with  telemetric BP monitoring ( TBPM ) ( n=30 ) and a control group receiving st and ard care ( n=30 ) . During the 3-month study period , patients received in addition to their antihypertensive pre-treatment up to 2 × 300 mg irbesartan to achieve the required target BP . All patients were instructed to measure their BP once daily in the morning . In the TBPM group automatic alerts were generated by the central data base server using pre-defined algorithms and patients were subsequently contacted by the physician . At baseline mean 24-h ambulant BP monitoring ( ABPM ) was 143.3±11.1/82.6±9.9 mm Hg in the TBPM group and 141.4±12.6/82.1±6.5 mm Hg in the st and ard care group . During treatment mean systolic BP showed a more intensive decrease in the TBPM vs control group ( −17.0±11.1 mm Hg vs −9.8±13.7 mm Hg ; P=0.032 ) . Patients in the TBPM group had a more pronounced night dipping and a higher reduction of mean pulse pressure than controls ( −8.1±5.9 mm Hg vs −2.8±7.4 mm Hg , P=0.004 ) . After 3 months , TBPM-treated patients were given a higher mean daily dose of irbesartan ( 375±187 mg vs 222±147 mg in controls ; P=<0.001 ) . We demonstrated that with TBPM a more effective and faster titration of the antihypertensive agent is possible . The alarm criteria chosen were useful to improve BP control
There is potential for mHealth tools to better facilitate adherence to chronic disease management , but the evidence supporting its current effectiveness is mixed .
BACKGROUND Adherence to chronic disease management is critical to achieving improved health outcomes , quality of life , and cost-effective health care .
As the burden of chronic diseases continues to grow globally , so does the impact of non-adherence .
Mobile technologies are increasingly being used in health care and public health practice ( mHealth ) for patient communication , monitoring , and education , and to facilitate adherence to chronic diseases management .
OBJECTIVE We conducted a systematic review of the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of mHealth in supporting the adherence of patients to chronic diseases management ( " mAdherence " ) , and the usability , feasibility , and acceptability of mAdherence tools and platforms in chronic disease management among patients and health care providers .