Systematic Review of Effects of Medication Dispenser Use by Home-Dwelling Older Adults.
Olli Salmensuu, Virva Hyttinen-Huotari, Jenni Isotalo and 3 others
PMID 40203839WHAT IT FOUND
For home-dwelling older adults, medication dispensers showed moderate evidence of beneficial effects on blood pressure and HbA1C levels.
Evidence was limited or absent for quality of life, patient satisfaction, service use, and costs.
Key findings
01Dispenser devices showed moderate evidence of beneficial effects on systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels.
02Dispenser devices showed moderate evidence of beneficial effects on HbA1C levels.
03There was no evidence of beneficial effects on patient satisfaction with care or quality of life.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review could not conduct meta-analysis because the included randomized trials were low quality, results were insufficiently reported, and outcomes were heterogeneous. Only one of the five original studies directly included scored as high quality, so much of the evidence depends on lower-quality studies. Dispenser research came only from high-income countries and focused mainly on users with mean ages of 64 to 80 years. No study assessed effects on care professional well-being or equity, and the literature often did not separate dispensing from reminding functions.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that medication dispensers reliably improve quality of life or patient satisfaction for older adults at home. The review found no evidence for those outcomes, and low-quality, heterogeneous studies prevented meta-analysis.