Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review

Autores
Ciapponi, Agustín; Donato, Manuel; Metin Gulmezoglu, A.; Alconada, Tomás; Bardach, Ariel Esteban
Año de publicación
2021
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
The use of substandard and counterfeit medicines (SCM) leads to significant health and economic consequences, like treatment failure, rise of antimicrobial resistance, extra expenditures of individuals or households and serious adverse drug reactions including death. Our objective was to systematically search, identify and compare relevant available mobile applications (apps) for smartphones and tablets, which use could potentially affect clinical and public health outcomes. We carried out a systematic review of the literature in January 2020, including major medical databases, and app stores. We used the validated Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) to assess the quality of apps, (1 worst score, 3 acceptable score, and 5 best score). We planned to evaluate the accuracy of the mobile apps to detect SCM. We retrieved 335 references through medical databases and 42 from Apple, Google stores and Google Scholar. We finally included two studies of the medical database, 25 apps (eight from the App Store, eight from Google Play, eight from both stores, and one from Google Scholar), and 16 websites. We only found one report on the accuracy of a mobile apps detecting SCMs. Most apps use the imprint, color or shape for pill identification, and only a few offer pill detection through photographs or bar code. The MARS mean score for the apps was 3.17 (acceptable), with a maximum of 4.9 and a minimum of 1.1. The functionality dimension resulted in the highest mean score (3.4), while the engagement and information dimensions showed the lowest one (3.0). In conclusion, we found a remarkable evidence gap about the accuracy of mobile apps in detecting SCMs. However, mobile apps could potentially be useful to screen for SCM by assessing the physical characteristics of pills, although this should still be assessed in properly designed research studies.
Fil: Ciapponi, Agustín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Argentina
Fil: Donato, Manuel. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina
Fil: Metin Gulmezoglu, A.. No especifíca;
Fil: Alconada, Tomás. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina
Fil: Bardach, Ariel Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Argentina
Materia
Mobile apps
Drugs
Substandard and counterfeit medicines (SCM)
Public health
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/175528

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network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic reviewCiapponi, AgustínDonato, ManuelMetin Gulmezoglu, A.Alconada, TomásBardach, Ariel EstebanMobile appsDrugsSubstandard and counterfeit medicines (SCM)Public healthhttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.3https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3The use of substandard and counterfeit medicines (SCM) leads to significant health and economic consequences, like treatment failure, rise of antimicrobial resistance, extra expenditures of individuals or households and serious adverse drug reactions including death. Our objective was to systematically search, identify and compare relevant available mobile applications (apps) for smartphones and tablets, which use could potentially affect clinical and public health outcomes. We carried out a systematic review of the literature in January 2020, including major medical databases, and app stores. We used the validated Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) to assess the quality of apps, (1 worst score, 3 acceptable score, and 5 best score). We planned to evaluate the accuracy of the mobile apps to detect SCM. We retrieved 335 references through medical databases and 42 from Apple, Google stores and Google Scholar. We finally included two studies of the medical database, 25 apps (eight from the App Store, eight from Google Play, eight from both stores, and one from Google Scholar), and 16 websites. We only found one report on the accuracy of a mobile apps detecting SCMs. Most apps use the imprint, color or shape for pill identification, and only a few offer pill detection through photographs or bar code. The MARS mean score for the apps was 3.17 (acceptable), with a maximum of 4.9 and a minimum of 1.1. The functionality dimension resulted in the highest mean score (3.4), while the engagement and information dimensions showed the lowest one (3.0). In conclusion, we found a remarkable evidence gap about the accuracy of mobile apps in detecting SCMs. However, mobile apps could potentially be useful to screen for SCM by assessing the physical characteristics of pills, although this should still be assessed in properly designed research studies.Fil: Ciapponi, Agustín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaFil: Donato, Manuel. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Metin Gulmezoglu, A.. No especifíca;Fil: Alconada, Tomás. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Bardach, Ariel Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; ArgentinaPublic Library of Science2021-02info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/175528Ciapponi, Agustín; Donato, Manuel; Metin Gulmezoglu, A.; Alconada, Tomás; Bardach, Ariel Esteban; Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review; Public Library of Science; Plos One; 16; 2-2021; 1-131932-6203CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0246061info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi//10.1371/journal.pone.0246061info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-29T10:35:24Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/175528instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-29 10:35:25.183CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review
title Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review
spellingShingle Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review
Ciapponi, Agustín
Mobile apps
Drugs
Substandard and counterfeit medicines (SCM)
Public health
title_short Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review
title_full Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review
title_fullStr Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review
title_full_unstemmed Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review
title_sort Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Ciapponi, Agustín
Donato, Manuel
Metin Gulmezoglu, A.
Alconada, Tomás
Bardach, Ariel Esteban
author Ciapponi, Agustín
author_facet Ciapponi, Agustín
Donato, Manuel
Metin Gulmezoglu, A.
Alconada, Tomás
Bardach, Ariel Esteban
author_role author
author2 Donato, Manuel
Metin Gulmezoglu, A.
Alconada, Tomás
Bardach, Ariel Esteban
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Mobile apps
Drugs
Substandard and counterfeit medicines (SCM)
Public health
topic Mobile apps
Drugs
Substandard and counterfeit medicines (SCM)
Public health
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3.3
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/3
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv The use of substandard and counterfeit medicines (SCM) leads to significant health and economic consequences, like treatment failure, rise of antimicrobial resistance, extra expenditures of individuals or households and serious adverse drug reactions including death. Our objective was to systematically search, identify and compare relevant available mobile applications (apps) for smartphones and tablets, which use could potentially affect clinical and public health outcomes. We carried out a systematic review of the literature in January 2020, including major medical databases, and app stores. We used the validated Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) to assess the quality of apps, (1 worst score, 3 acceptable score, and 5 best score). We planned to evaluate the accuracy of the mobile apps to detect SCM. We retrieved 335 references through medical databases and 42 from Apple, Google stores and Google Scholar. We finally included two studies of the medical database, 25 apps (eight from the App Store, eight from Google Play, eight from both stores, and one from Google Scholar), and 16 websites. We only found one report on the accuracy of a mobile apps detecting SCMs. Most apps use the imprint, color or shape for pill identification, and only a few offer pill detection through photographs or bar code. The MARS mean score for the apps was 3.17 (acceptable), with a maximum of 4.9 and a minimum of 1.1. The functionality dimension resulted in the highest mean score (3.4), while the engagement and information dimensions showed the lowest one (3.0). In conclusion, we found a remarkable evidence gap about the accuracy of mobile apps in detecting SCMs. However, mobile apps could potentially be useful to screen for SCM by assessing the physical characteristics of pills, although this should still be assessed in properly designed research studies.
Fil: Ciapponi, Agustín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Argentina
Fil: Donato, Manuel. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina
Fil: Metin Gulmezoglu, A.. No especifíca;
Fil: Alconada, Tomás. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; Argentina
Fil: Bardach, Ariel Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria. Centro de Investigaciones en Epidemiología y Salud Pública; Argentina
description The use of substandard and counterfeit medicines (SCM) leads to significant health and economic consequences, like treatment failure, rise of antimicrobial resistance, extra expenditures of individuals or households and serious adverse drug reactions including death. Our objective was to systematically search, identify and compare relevant available mobile applications (apps) for smartphones and tablets, which use could potentially affect clinical and public health outcomes. We carried out a systematic review of the literature in January 2020, including major medical databases, and app stores. We used the validated Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) to assess the quality of apps, (1 worst score, 3 acceptable score, and 5 best score). We planned to evaluate the accuracy of the mobile apps to detect SCM. We retrieved 335 references through medical databases and 42 from Apple, Google stores and Google Scholar. We finally included two studies of the medical database, 25 apps (eight from the App Store, eight from Google Play, eight from both stores, and one from Google Scholar), and 16 websites. We only found one report on the accuracy of a mobile apps detecting SCMs. Most apps use the imprint, color or shape for pill identification, and only a few offer pill detection through photographs or bar code. The MARS mean score for the apps was 3.17 (acceptable), with a maximum of 4.9 and a minimum of 1.1. The functionality dimension resulted in the highest mean score (3.4), while the engagement and information dimensions showed the lowest one (3.0). In conclusion, we found a remarkable evidence gap about the accuracy of mobile apps in detecting SCMs. However, mobile apps could potentially be useful to screen for SCM by assessing the physical characteristics of pills, although this should still be assessed in properly designed research studies.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021-02
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/175528
Ciapponi, Agustín; Donato, Manuel; Metin Gulmezoglu, A.; Alconada, Tomás; Bardach, Ariel Esteban; Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review; Public Library of Science; Plos One; 16; 2-2021; 1-13
1932-6203
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/175528
identifier_str_mv Ciapponi, Agustín; Donato, Manuel; Metin Gulmezoglu, A.; Alconada, Tomás; Bardach, Ariel Esteban; Mobile apps for detecting falsified and substandard drugs: A systematic review; Public Library of Science; Plos One; 16; 2-2021; 1-13
1932-6203
CONICET Digital
CONICET
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language eng
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info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi//10.1371/journal.pone.0246061
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
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publisher.none.fl_str_mv Public Library of Science
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repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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