Accuracy of machine learning-based prediction of medication adherence in clinical research

Psychiatry Res. 2020 Dec:294:113558. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113558. Epub 2020 Nov 4.

Abstract

Medication non-adherence represents a significant barrier to treatment efficacy. Remote, real-time measurement of medication dosing can facilitate dynamic prediction of risk for medication non-adherence, which in-turn allows for proactive clinical intervention to optimize health outcomes. We examine the accuracy of dynamic prediction of non-adherence using data from remote real-time measurements of medication dosing. Participants across a large set of clinical trials (n = 4,182) were observed via a smartphone application that video records patients taking their prescribed medication. The patients' primary diagnosis, demographics, and prior indication of observed adherence/non-adherence were utilized to predict (1) adherence rates ≥ 80% across the clinical trial, (2) adherence ≥ 80% for the subsequent week, and (3) adherence the subsequent day using machine learning-based classification models. Empirically observed adherence was demonstrated to be the strongest predictor of future adherence/non-adherence. Collectively, the classification models accurately predicted adherence across the trial (AUC = 0.83), the subsequent week (AUC = 0.87) and the subsequent day (AUC = 0.87). Real-time measurement of dosing can be utilized to dynamically predict medication adherence with high accuracy.

Keywords: Machine learning; Medication adherence; Predictive model; Psychiatric disorders.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Biomedical Research / methods
  • Biomedical Research / standards*
  • Clinical Trials as Topic / methods
  • Clinical Trials as Topic / standards*
  • Female
  • Forecasting
  • Humans
  • Machine Learning / standards*
  • Male
  • Medication Adherence / psychology*
  • Middle Aged
  • Software / standards
  • Treatment Outcome