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Medication Adherence Texting Pilot Program

Diabetes is a serious chronic illness thatimpacts more than 30 million Americans and is the seventh leading cause of death, with type 2 diabetes accounting for approximately 95 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.

With generous support from the General Electric (GE) Foundation, Americares, its partner CareMessage, are excited to announce the launch of the Medication Adherence Texting Pilot Program, designed to improve medication compliance in free and charitable clinics.

Click here to see Program Results and Outcomes. 

See the Final Report

Improving Medication Adherence in Free and Charitable Clinics: A pilot program using CareMessage’s texting service

Non-adherence to medication is considered to be one of the largest drug related issues. Consequences of non-adherence include worsening condition, increased comorbid diseases, increased health care costs, and death. Cell phones and other consumer digital technologies have emerged as potentially powerful tools to engage patients in health care by improving providers’ capacity to reach vulnerable populations and actively engage them in their care. Text messaging represents a desirable, low-cost means to amplify and reinforce patient-empowerment strategies among underserved populations.

Participating Clinics:

ClinicCityState
Community Health Care ClinicNormalIL
Sumpter Free ClinicSaint StephenSC
M-Power Ministries Health CenterBirminghamAL
Metrocrest Community ClinicFarmers BranchTX
Pocatello Free ClinicPocatelloID

About the Program

In support of this pilot program, AstraZeneca has provided Americares with a committed supply of Crestor, a top-rated cholesterol lowering medication, in order to assess the impact of a medication adherence texting program on vulnerable populations. This texting program, in partnership with CareMessage and their technology, will combine medication reminders and adherence messaging with general education and disease self-management content and promote positive behavior change for vulnerable and diverse populations. The CareMessage platform is designed specifically to serve the populations that use free and charitable clinic services, including low-income and/or non-English speaking patients with low levels of health literacy.

Running from February 2016 through August 2016, this program measured to determine success based on (1) retention rate, (2) response rate, (3) changes in patient activation (4) change in self-reported behavior change and (5) satisfaction with the texting program. This program presented an opportunity for expansion across the free clinic sector as well as an opportunity to make significant impacts on patient medication adherence in vulnerable populations. 

Program Benefits and Timeline

Participating clinics have been trained on using the CareMessage platform and enrolling patients in the texting program. In addition, participating clinics will receive a $2000 grant for general operating expensesand will $500 in gas cards as incentives to enroll patients in the program.

Program Timeline