A new mobile app and website designed to help patients better manage their medicines and thus boost treatment adherence has been launched in the UK by Janssen Healthcare Innovation (JHI).

Care4Today Mobile Health Manager triggers medication dosing and repeat prescription reminders and also gives family members and carers the opportunity to provide support through a digital network.

Crucially, it also carries built-in reports that track when and how medicines are taken over a period of time, important data that can easily be shared with healthcare professionals during appointments.

Lack of medicine adherence is a huge issue which, aside from the potential health impact, also causes substantial problems for the wider UK economy.

According to JHI, it is “a leading cause of delayed recovery and hospitalisation” with around £466 million shelled out on medication-related hospitalisations each year in the UK, added to which £100-£150 million worth of medicines are going in the bin in unnecessary waste.

The firm points out that, in the UK, a mere ten days after starting a medicine almost a third of patients are already not taking it as directed.

Since 97% of people in the UK carry a mobile phone with them, the app can help support their self-care “at the touch of a button”, and thus hopes to address some of these issues.