Johnson & Johnson has expanded its mobile adherence programme into its first non-US market, bringing the Care4Today Mobile Health Manager to the UK.

Developed by J&J's Janssen Healthcare Innovation unit, the programme aims to help people with long-term conditions remember to take their medicines and to keep on track of when they have taken them.

David Tripi, head of enabling technologies at Janssen Healthcare Innovation, said: “We are delighted to launch Care4Today Mobile Health Manager in the UK as part of our ongoing commitment to find innovative ways to help improve the lives and outcomes of those with health conditions.

“We recognise the crucial role families and carers can play in a patient's journey to health and the Care4Today Mobile Health Manager platform allows them to more easily support those they care for.”

The service is available as free mobile app for Apple or Android smartphones as well as via text messages, making it usable by the 97 per cent of people in the UK that carry a mobile phone.

It can also be joined up with J&J's Care4Families service, which allows Care4Today users to connect their profile to a designated relative, friend or carer, who can then monitor whether they have taken their medication as prescribed and receive an alert if a dose is missed.

More than 15 million people in England have a long term condition but it's thought only half of them take their medicines as prescribed, potentially delaying their recovery and increasing their chances of hospitalisation. In addition to the health effects of non-adherence there are financial implications for the NHS, with around £466m spent each year in the UK on medication-related hospitalisations.

Care4Today can be used to monitor any medication by any manufacturer across any disease area, with over 20,000 registered treatments pre-loaded. Users are also able to add other medicines themselves.

Given this coverage J&J hopes the programme will become “an invaluable tool for patients, families, carers and healthcare professionals” in the management of chronic conditions. The company is keen to expand its uses into the monitoring of everyday remedies, such as taking vitamins, or tracking activities, like going for a walk.

The app sends reminders to the user to take their medication and renew their prescription and features built-in reports that track when and how medicines are taken over a period of time. These reports can be shared with a healthcare professional directly from the mobile phone during appointments.

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