A pilot study using electronic reminders for amblyopia treatment

Treatment compliance is the most important factor for predicting a successful outcome in amblyopia treatment. Electronic applications have been successfully employed in other medical conditions in an effort to improve compliance. Aim: To determine whether a smartphone medical adherence application (app) (RxmindMe® Prescription/Medicine Reminder and Pill Tracker) may be successfully incorporated into the treatment plan of patients 3–7 years of age who have not previously been treated for amblyopia. Methods: Children 3–7 years of age were randomized to receive electronic reminders (reminders group) or standard instructions (control group). Visual acuity and compliance with treatment was assessed at the first follow-up visit. The child’s adherence with the prescribed treatment was calculated as the reported number of hours of patching performed divided by the number of hours prescribed or compliance percentage. The validated “Amblyopia Treatment Index Parental Questionnaire” was administered to the parent/guardian to assess any differences in the compliance subscale between the two treatment groups. Any difficulties encountered with the use of the reminder app were also recorded at the follow-up visit. Results: Twenty-four participants were enrolled. Twelve participants in the reminder group (eight female, four male; mean age 4.5 ± 1.3) were compared with 12 participants in the control group (five female, seven male; mean 4.8 ± 1.1). No significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of age (p = 0.62), gender (p = 0.22), or degree of amblyopia at the start of treatment (p = 0.99). Eleven of 12 participants in the reminders group were able to incorporate the reminder app into amblyopia treatment. No participant reported malfunction of the alarm portion of the reminder app. There was no significant difference seen in degree of visual acuity improvement, reported percentage compliance or effect on the compliance subscale as assessed by the ATI questionnaire. Several participants reported the app to be “helpful” in initiating treatment. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that use of a smartphone app is feasible in this patient population. Targeting the app to specific patient demographics or when difficulty with compliance is encountered needs to be further investigated.