The future of medication adherence: Exploring the potential of digital pills

Kole, Prajwal Sunil and Hiremath, S P and Yadav, M Mahesh and Koshti, Gouri Santosh and Shetiya, Anisha Anandu (2025) The future of medication adherence: Exploring the potential of digital pills. GSC Advanced Research and Reviews, 23 (2). 080-093. ISSN 2582-4597

The modern healthcare landscape is increasingly influenced by digital health technologies, particularly with the introduction of sensor-integrated digital pills. These digital pills (DP) merge traditional treatment approaches with systems that monitor both medication adherence and patient's physiological conditions. Medication non-adherence is a major global challenge, particularly in the management of chronic illnesses. Effectively addressing this issue requires a blend of educational initiatives, behavioural approaches, and cooperation between patients and healthcare providers. This review explores a variety of digital tools designed to enhance medication management and adherence, including mobile applications, online platforms, smart pills, dispensers, packaging, and ingestible sensor. Additionally, medication adherence is often overstated in clinical trials, potentially leading to reduced statistical power and misleading conclusions about a drug's efficacy, safety, and tolerability, as well as significant financial implications. Digital pill technologies enable the tracking of medication adherence through an embedded sensor that links to an external device. This innovation addresses challenges such as privacy concerns, regulatory compliance, and the need for patient education. The primary focus is on how digital pills are reshaping medication adherence, fostering a more transparent and efficient healthcare system.