Text messages helps transplant patients

Posted: 12/04/09 by Mobile Future Team

As Washington focuses on healthcare legislation, here's a sobering statement from Dr. Pauline Chen, author of the New York Times' "Doctor & Patient" column:

"Nonadherence, or the failure to follow medical advice, is the most important cause of organ rejection in long-term transplant survivors."

Teenagers are at especially high risk, she writes this week, citing studies suggesting that a majority of teen liver transplants fail and that teen patients are four times more likely than adults to take their medications at the wrong time or to forget to take them.

So how to reach today's hard-to-reach teens?  Last month, researchers at researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York published a study showing the remarkable effectiveness of texting in improving success rates among young liver transplant patients. 

During a year-long test, patients receiving texts were more likely to take their medications. One result: while 12 of the young people experienced rejection episodes in the previous year, only two did so during the study.

The next time a text message appears on your phone, it may be your doc giving you an important reminder.