We ran across a very interesting story from across the pond. Click the link for the full article, or read the excerpts below:
An innovative scheme using mobile technology to identify patients at risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) by effectively establishing smoking status has recently proved a success for Hammersmith and Fulham health services in London.
The scheme found that the use of iPLATO Patient Care Messaging to request a patient’s smoking status via text message, resulted in significantly higher response rates than other methods of communication previously used, enabling a patient’s medical record to be updated quickly and efficiently.
According to a study made by the British Heart Foundation, the risk of mortality from any cardiovascular disease is 60% higher in smokers compared to non-smokers, making the identification of this ‘at risk’ group a crucial element in the battle against CVD.
From searches made on their GP system, the surgeries sent out a text message asking patients to text back their current smoking status. Patients who received this message were able to text back their status via a reply text that arrived at the surgery as an email (to a pre-defined surgery email address). The Brook Green Medical Centre, in Hammersmith and Fulham, successfully used the platform and achieved response rates of 49% when requesting smoking status via text message.
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