A recent article posted in the Journal of Clinical Nursing finds that text message reminders can improve medication adherence by 15.3 to 17.8 percent. The report was completed at Michigan State University by Tracy DeKoekkoek, R.N. and her colleagues—and reviewed data compiled by multiple studies.
The data was gathered from 13 studies individual that focused on text message intervention designed to improve medication adherence. Some of these studies, a report summary from DoctorsLounge explains, provided standard text messages, and some featured text messages that were custom-tailored to the patient.
Some text messages were delivered via one-way communication, and some offered two-way communication. Studies also focused on medication reminders that were sent on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
“This review established a scientific basis for text messages as an intervention to improve medication adherence across multiple diseases,” the authors write. “Future large rigorous randomized trials are needed to further test text messaging interventions.”
