The use of an electronic medication organizer device with alarm to improve medication adherence of older adults with hypertension.

Objective: To examine whether the use of a monthly electronic medication organizer device equipped with an alarm clock, called Electronic System for Personal and Controlled Use of Medications (Supermed), improves medication adherence of older adults with hypertension.

Methods: This is a quali-quantitative, prospective, before-and-after study performed with 32 older adult patients with diagnosis of hypertension, who were recruited at a Primary Care Unit in Brazil.

Results: The main outcome measures were improvement of medication adherence and blood pressure control after intervention with Supermed.

[Development of an electronic device to organize medications and promote treatment adherence].

This article describes the development of an electronic prototype to organize medications - the Electronic System for Personal and Controlled Use of Medications (Sistema Eletrônico de Uso Personalizado e Controlado de Medicamentos, SUPERMED). The prototype includes a drawer containing 1 month's supply of medicines, sound and visual medication timers, and a memory card for recording the times when the box was opened/closed (scheduled and unscheduled). This information is later transferred to a computer.