Using text messages to help boost medication adherence among chronic disease patients can help, but this isn’t a silver bullet, according to research published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The study, which involved reviewing data from 16 randomized clinical trials, found that texting can double the odds of patients sticking to medication adherence, with rates improving between 50 and 67 percent. However, researchers cautioned about the “short duration of trials” and reliance on self-reporting of medication adherence measures.

“Future studies need to determine the features of text message interventions that improve success, as well as appropriate patient populations, sustained effects, and influences on clinical outcomes,” researchers said. They, however, added that extended use of texting for medical adherence could potentially lead to device fatigue among users and be viewed as annoying.

Texting tools promise to help chronic care patients avoid costly hospital re-admission scenarios, while keeping patients engaged with their care long after a hospital stay. And patients are open to embracing them along with other mHealth options, according to Laurie Buis, an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Michigan, told Kaiser.

“There is a lot of consumer demand for these types of interventions,” she said.

[Via: FierceMobileHealthcare]