Distributing prescription medications in specially designed blister packages rather than in bottles may increase the likelihood that medications will be taken properly, concludes a study from Ohio State University.

The study of 88 adults who were 65 and older found that patients taking lisinopril, a medication used to treat chronic high blood pressure, were more likely to comply by taking the medication at the prescribed intervals and have their prescriptions refilled on time if the medication came in a blister package rather than as loose tablets in a bottle. In this case, the blister clearly stated the day on which to take each pill.

Moreover, reports Hospital & Nursing Home Week, diastolic blood pressure was reduced in nearly half of the patients who received the drug in a blister package, compared with less than 20% of patients who received bottles of medication.

“This suggests that a better system of packaging for medications helped people take their medications properly,” says Philip Schneider, the study’s lead author and a clinical professor of pharmacy at OSU.