Studio Fundi, a human-centred design and product development consultancy, has developed a scratch-card-calendar sticker for medical packaging. The adherence intervention provides a low-cost analogue solution to encourage patients to remember to take their daily medication. This innovative solution, named FebriSol, was showcased by Studio Fundi at Pharmapack 2023.
FebriSol is designed to be used with any daily chronic medication. The patient simply sticks the label on their bottle, box, or packet and scratches off the day's metallic coating after taking their medication. By doing this, they reveal a green tick on the label, providing the positive reinforcement that is essential to making behavioral change sustainable.
FebriSol addresses the problem of medication adherence, a fundamental challenge in the management of all chronic conditions. According to the World Health Organisation: "Increasing the effectiveness of adherence interventions may have a far greater impact on the health of the population than any improvement in specific medical treatments."
FebriSol is particularly useful in lower-income countries where obstacles such as illiteracy, accessibility, and cost prevent patients from sticking to daily treatments.
The brainchild of Ricky Stoch, Studio Fundi’s founder, FebriSol was one of ten projects shortlisted for the World Design Impact Prize 2021.
FebriSol has been registered in the UK, US, and South Africa and recently sold more than 750,000 units to a large pharmaceutical customer. Initially designed to increase adherence to antiretrovirals, used to treat HIV, the product has found applications in almost any daily chronic medication, including those used to treat heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol, and depression.
FebriSol proves that digital solutions do not always make the difference when designing innovative and patient-centric adherence interventions that help patients remember to take their medication.
