Perspectives

Text Messaging Can Double Patient Adherence Rates

Written by admin | Jun 27, 2023 9:43:40 PM

Communication is key to delivering high-quality, patient-focused care. Every specialty patient navigates a unique and challenging therapy journey. They may receive care from multiple providers and manage multiple prescriptions. For care to be successful, patients must be fully educated on their treatment plan and engaged in their journey. Pharmacists are often the clinicians most suited to help patients manage their care through frequent, open, comprehensive communication.

As patients rely more and more on text messaging in their daily lives, pharmacists can maximize engagement by using this preferred method of communication. Patient text messaging proves to be a vital component of many specialty pharmacy communication plans. According to recent research, 98.2% of patients value text message communications, and 95.5% feel more connected to their care team because of it.[1]

Patient text messaging features improve the patient-clinician dialogue in a number of ways:

  • Reinforcing communication on treatment plans and goals
  • Providing patients with a convenient method to communicate treatment questions and concerns
  • Enabling pharmacists to reach patients faster
  • Delivering convenient educational content
  • Pushing refill reminders and reducing outbound call volume
  • Enabling mobile assessments for clinical and operational feedback

CPS® results from TherigySTM® Patient Text Messaging easily quantify its value:

  • Pharmacies are 3 times more likely to reach the patient for monthly patient care coordination
  • Pharmacies improve productivity among care management staff by 15%
  • Pharmacies record a 39% increase in completion of monthly patient activities

Above all else, studies show patient text messaging features roughly double medication adherence rates.[2] This increase in turn improves patient quality of life and outcomes. The more engagement patients have with their pharmacists, the more likely they are to have their concerns addressed so they can adhere to their treatment plan.

A patient’s therapy journey is never static. Effective care must be personalized, iterative, and responsive to address the patient’s evolving needs. New and improved methods of communication, like text messaging, are key for specialty pharmacists looking to meet patient healthcare goals through every stage of treatment.

To learn more about TherigySTM’s patient messaging capabilities, schedule a demo with a member of our team today!

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8208423/

[2] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2484905