Consumer Mobile Apps for Potential Drug-Drug Interaction Check: Systematic Review and Content Analysis Using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS)
- PMID: 29592848
- PMCID: PMC5895923
- DOI: 10.2196/mhealth.8613
Consumer Mobile Apps for Potential Drug-Drug Interaction Check: Systematic Review and Content Analysis Using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS)
Abstract
Background: General consumers can now easily access drug information and quickly check for potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) through mobile health (mHealth) apps. With aging population in Canada, more people have chronic diseases and comorbidities leading to increasing numbers of medications. The use of mHealth apps for checking PDDIs can be helpful in ensuring patient safety and empowerment.
Objective: The aim of this study was to review the characteristics and quality of publicly available mHealth apps that check for PDDIs.
Methods: Apple App Store and Google Play were searched to identify apps with PDDI functionality. The apps' general and feature characteristics were extracted. The Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) was used to assess the quality.
Results: A total of 23 apps were included for the review-12 from Apple App Store and 11 from Google Play. Only 5 of these were paid apps, with an average price of $7.19 CAD. The mean MARS score was 3.23 out of 5 (interquartile range 1.34). The mean MARS scores for the apps from Google Play and Apple App Store were not statistically different (P=.84). The information dimension was associated with the highest score (3.63), whereas the engagement dimension resulted in the lowest score (2.75). The total number of features per app, average rating, and price were significantly associated with the total MARS score.
Conclusions: Some apps provided accurate and comprehensive information about potential adverse drug effects from PDDIs. Given the potentially severe consequences of incorrect drug information, there is a need for oversight to eliminate low quality and potentially harmful apps. Because managing PDDIs is complex in the absence of complete information, secondary features such as medication reminder, refill reminder, medication history tracking, and pill identification could help enhance the effectiveness of PDDI apps.
Keywords: consumer health informatics; consumer health information; drug interactions; mobile applications; smartphone; telemedicine.
©Ben YB Kim, Anis Sharafoddini, Nam Tran, Emily Y Wen, Joon Lee. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 28.03.2018.
Conflict of interest statement
Conflicts of Interest: None declared.
Figures
![Figure 1](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/5895923/bin/mhealth_v6i3e74_fig1.gif)
![Figure 2](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/5895923/bin/mhealth_v6i3e74_fig2.gif)
![Figure 3](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/5895923/bin/mhealth_v6i3e74_fig3.gif)
Similar articles
-
Quality Assessment of Smartphone Medication Management Apps in France: Systematic Search.JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2024 Mar 18;12:e54866. doi: 10.2196/54866. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2024. PMID: 38498042 Free PMC article.
-
Menstrual Tracking Mobile App Review by Consumers and Health Care Providers: Quality Evaluations Study.JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2023 Mar 1;11:e40921. doi: 10.2196/40921. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2023. PMID: 36857125 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Analysis of Apps With a Medication List Functionality for Older Adults With Heart Failure Using the Mobile App Rating Scale and the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics Functionality Score: Evaluation Study.JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021 Nov 2;9(11):e30674. doi: 10.2196/30674. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021. PMID: 34726613 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Popular Evidence-Based Commercial Mental Health Apps: Analysis of Engagement, Functionality, Aesthetics, and Information Quality.JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021 Jul 14;9(7):e29689. doi: 10.2196/29689. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021. PMID: 34259639 Free PMC article.
-
Mobile Apps for Drug-Drug Interaction Checks in Chinese App Stores: Systematic Review and Content Analysis.JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021 Jun 15;9(6):e26262. doi: 10.2196/26262. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021. PMID: 33962910 Free PMC article.
Cited by
-
Quality Assessment of Smartphone Medication Management Apps in France: Systematic Search.JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2024 Mar 18;12:e54866. doi: 10.2196/54866. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2024. PMID: 38498042 Free PMC article.
-
Assessing the Quality, Privacy, and Security of Breast Cancer Apps for Arabic Speakers: Systematic Search and Review of Smartphone Apps.JMIR Cancer. 2024 Jan 16;10:e48428. doi: 10.2196/48428. JMIR Cancer. 2024. PMID: 38227353 Free PMC article.
-
Mobile applications in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic: systematic search, use case mapping, and quality assessment using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS).BMC Digit Health. 2023;1(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s44247-023-00007-2. Epub 2023 Mar 6. BMC Digit Health. 2023. PMID: 38014368 Free PMC article.
-
There's an App for it: A systematic review of mobile apps providing information about abortion using a revised MARS scale.PLOS Digit Health. 2023 Jul 17;2(7):e0000277. doi: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000277. eCollection 2023 Jul. PLOS Digit Health. 2023. PMID: 37459287 Free PMC article.
-
Evaluation criteria for health apps supporting medication adherence in early-stage technology development - a scoping review.Ger Med Sci. 2023 Apr 4;21:Doc03. doi: 10.3205/000317. eCollection 2023. Ger Med Sci. 2023. PMID: 37260918 Free PMC article. Review.
References
-
- Scheife RT, Hines LE, Boyce RD, Chung SP, Momper JD, Sommer CD, Abernethy DR, Horn JR, Sklar SJ, Wong SK, Jones G, Brown ML, Grizzle AJ, Comes S, Wilkins TL, Borst C, Wittie MA, Malone DC. Consensus recommendations for systematic evaluation of drug-drug interaction evidence for clinical decision support. Drug Saf. 2015 Feb;38(2):197–206. doi: 10.1007/s40264-014-0262-8. http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/25556085 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
Publication types
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Miscellaneous