Text Message Reminders help Teen Transplant Patients

A study looked at improving compliance rates in pediatric liver transplant recipients by using text messaging.

The study looked at 41 young people (average age 15 years) who were liver transplant recipients. The MediM AS system from CareSpeak Communications, which funded the study, was used to decide which time of day patients/or caregivers preferred to receive a medication reminder via text message. Once the message was received, the patients had 15 minutes to send a reply text confirming the medication had been taken. Another message would be automatically sent to the parents if they did not. Researchers tracked by computer how many times patients replied, did not reply or had to have parental intervention.

In the year prior to the study, 12 of 41 patients experienced rejection that required hospitalization and treatment because the patient’s body rejected the transplant due to improper medication dosage. But one year into this study, just two patients suffered rejection of the liver.

emily | 9:21 AM | Health Issues and SMS Alerts |
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