Non-compliance (in the sense of taking medication) is a major obstacle to the effective delivery of health care. Estimates from the World Health Organization indicate that only about 50% of patients with chronic diseases living in developed countries follow treatment recommendations. In developing countries the numbers are even lower and not reliable.
In particular, low rates of adherence to therapies for asthma, diabetes, and hypertension are thought to contribute substantially to the human and economic burden of those conditions. Compliance rates may be overestimated in the medical literature, as compliance is often high in the setting of a formal clinical trial but drops off in a “real-world” setting. Mobility is one area that is being used to tackle challenging groups.
I recently read about several trials that have been undertaken in order to tackle the problem of non-compliance in the US.
- In one program at George Washington University Hospital in Washington DC, Inner-city diabetics, an especially hard-to-treat group, might better control their blood sugar by tracking their disease using Internet-connected mobile phones.
- The incentive is to provide users with reduced monthly rates as long as they regularly comply. The user has a web-based health record which is accessed via the phone with daily blood-sugar levels entered. Readings that are too high or low trigger emergency advice. This approach can save can saves considerable money for government healthcare programs.
- SMS is key for dispensing information from appointment and medication reminders through to advice, as it can be handled by any phone. Among the biggest offered to date is the free in the US is text4baby, where government-vetted health tips timed to pregnant women’s due dates are texted weekly to about 50,000 participants.
- In a study of 70 Boston residents to improve cancer-preventing use of sunscreen, daily SMS reminders hooked to the weather forecast for six weeks increased sunscreen use by 40 percent.
While most of these systems are trials, and there is not one consistent approach, it is clear that mobile applications on smartphones, through rich applications to basic SMS are a good way to unobtrusively deal with “tip of the iceberg” issues that are extremely costly to government healthcare programs in the developed and the developing world.
Moreover, they also see ecosystem changes, where mobile operators become involved in the healthcare system, as highlighted by Telefonica establishing its own E-Health unit.
Andy Brown is a Research Director in Strategy Analytics’ Global Wireless Practice. You can connect with Andy here.
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Tackling Compliance in Healthcare Using Mobility
In particular, low rates of adherence to therapies for asthma, diabetes, and hypertension are thought to contribute substantially to the human and economic burden of those conditions. Compliance rates may be overestimated in the medical literature, as compliance is often high in the setting of a formal clinical trial but drops off in a “real-world” setting. Mobility is one area that is being used to tackle challenging groups.
I recently read about several trials that have been undertaken in order to tackle the problem of non-compliance in the US.
While most of these systems are trials, and there is not one consistent approach, it is clear that mobile applications on smartphones, through rich applications to basic SMS are a good way to unobtrusively deal with “tip of the iceberg” issues that are extremely costly to government healthcare programs in the developed and the developing world.
Moreover, they also see ecosystem changes, where mobile operators become involved in the healthcare system, as highlighted by Telefonica establishing its own E-Health unit.
Andy Brown is a Research Director in Strategy Analytics’ Global Wireless Practice. You can connect with Andy here.