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Texting program improves smoking cessation rates
A smoking cessation program in which participants received mobile phone motivational text messages significantly improved smoking cessation rates at 6 months and the method should be considered for inclusion in smoking cessation services, according to a study published June 29 in The Lancet.
A smoking cessation program in which participants received mobile phone motivational text messages significantly improved smoking cessation rates at 6 months and the method should be considered for inclusion in smoking cessation services, according to a study published June 29 in The Lancet.
The study, called txt2stop, was a single-blind, randomized trial in which personalized smoking cessation advice and support was offered using mobile phone text messages. The study took place between October 15, 2007, and June 1, 2009. Smokers aged 16 years or older who owned a mobile phone were randomly assigned to intervention (2,915) or control (2,885) using an independent telephone randomization system.
Participants in the intervention group received 5 text messages a day for the first 5 weeks and then 3 a week for the next 26 weeks. The messages included motivational messages and positive feedback, they emphasized the benefits of quitting smoking, offered information on the consequences of smoking, and provided detail on how to quit and abstain. Participants also could receive personalized information from a database of 713 messages and were allowed to interact with one another via text messaging for further support. The primary outcome was self-reported continuous smoking abstinence, biochemically verified at 6 months.
Results of the study showed that smoking cessation support delivered via text messaging doubled quit rates at 6 months, and the intervention was effective among all socioeconomic groups and age groups. Though the results appeared to be similar to other behavioral support interventions, such as group and 1-to-1 counseling, the control group quit rate and the absolute difference in quitting between the intervention and control group was lower than in many trials of group or 1-to-1 counseling, the authors noted.
“On the basis of these results the txt2stop intervention should be considered as an addition to existing smoking cessation services,” the authors said. In addition, they noted, “Our finding that the txt2stop intervention increased biochemically verified smoking cessation at 6 months raises the possibility that mobile-technology-based interventions might be effective in changing other behavioural risk factors for diseases.”
Coalition promotes important acetaminophen dosing reminders
November 18th 2014It may come as a surprise that each year Americans catch approximately 1 billion colds, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 20% get the flu. This cold and flu season, 7 in 10 patients will reach for an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine to treat their coughs, stuffy noses, and sniffles. It’s an important time of the year to remind patients to double check their medicine labels so they don’t double up on medicines containing acetaminophen.
Support consumer access to specialty medications through value-based insurance design
June 30th 2014The driving force behind consumer cost-sharing provisions for specialty medications is the acquisition cost and not clinical value. This appears to be true for almost all public and private health plans, says a new report from researchers at the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID Center) and the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC).
Management of antipsychotic medication polypharmacy
June 13th 2013Within our healthcare-driven society, the increase in the identification and diagnosis of mental illnesses has led to a proportional increase in the prescribing of psychotropic medications. The prevalence of mental illnesses and subsequent treatment approaches may employ monotherapy as first-line treatment, but in many cases the use of combination of therapy can occur, leading to polypharmacy.1 Polypharmacy can be defined in several ways but it generally recognized as the use of multiple medications by one patient and the most common definition is the concurrent use of five more medications. The presence of polyharmacy has the potential to contribute to non-compliance, drug-drug interactions, medication errors, adverse events, or poor quality of life.
Medical innovation improves outcomes
June 12th 2013I have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the pancreas, a disease that’s long been considered not just incurable, but almost impossible to treat-a recalcitrant disease that some practitioners feel has given oncology a bad name. I was told my life would be measured in weeks.
