Text reminders raise medication adherence in Medicare patients by 14%

An interactive text messaging system can improve medication adherence, according to a study published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth. In the study, researchers used mPulse Mobile, a leader in mobile health engagement, on partially adherent and nonadherent Medicare patients to compare refill rates of a text message group of 12,272 with a control group of 76,068 individuals who did not receive text messages. All participants had experience with other forms of refill and adherence reminders like phone calls, emails, and robo-calls. Results showed a 14.1% increase in refill rates in the text message group when compared with refill rates of the control group. The findings "support using interactive text messaging as a cost-effective, convenient, and user-friendly solution for patient engagement," concluded first author Rena Brar Prayaga, MA, JD, and colleagues. "Program outcomes and insights can be used to enhance the design of future text-based solutions to improve health outcomes and promote adherence and long-term behavior change."