You respond to a text to confirm a gym class, dinner reservation or catch up with a friend, but would you respond to a text reminding you to comply with your prescription medication?
A new study published online by JAMA Internal Medicine1 on February 1, 2016 investigated how mobile phone texting impacts medication adherence for middle-aged people living with a chronic disease.
The study’s meta-analysis of 16 randomised clinical trials, involving a collective analysis of 2,742 patients from various data sources including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO, and CINAHL, suggests texting increases the odds of medication adherence for middle-aged people living with chronic disease, from 50 per cent to 67.8 per cent.
A recent 2 Minute Medicine2 online article cites results from this meta-analysis suggest poor adherence to medication increases health costs, and texting intervention may heighten the cost-efficiency and success of treating medical conditions.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare3 describes a chronic disease as a long-lasting medical condition, such as cancer, mental health and diabetes that has a persistent effect.
A 2003 report by World Health Organisation (WHO)4 stated medication adherence among patients living with chronic diseases in developed countries averaged only 50 per cent, noting the spread of poor medicinal adherence in developing countries is estimated to be higher due to the scarcity of health resources.
WHO reports adherence to medication is vital to patient care and “increasing the effectiveness of adherence interventions may have a far greater impact on the health of the population than any improvement in specific medical treatment.”4
Improving medication adherence among those living with chronic disease has been a longstanding challenge for health experts, despite educational, counselling and patient support strategies.
This meta-analysis sheds positive light on the future management of chronic diseases however further investigation is required to determine the effectiveness of texting intervention strategies.
References
- Thakkar J, Kurup R, Laba T, et al. Mobile Telephone Text Messaging for Medication Adherence in Chronic Disease: A Meta-analysis.JAMA Intern Med. Published online February 01, 2016. Available at http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2484905. [Last Accessed February 10, 2016].
- Bejaimal, S 2016, Mobile text messaging may improve medication adherence.
Available at http://www.2minutemedicine.com/mobile-text-messaging-may-improve-medication-adherence/.
[Last Accessed February 10, 2016]. - Australian Health Insititute Australia, Chronic Diseases. Available at http://www.aihw.gov.au/chronic-diseases/. [Last Accessed February 10, 2016].
- World Health Organisation, 2013 Adherence Full Report.
Available at http://www.who.int/chp/knowledge/publications/adherence_full_report.pdf. [Last Accessed February 10, 2016].