Korean J Fam Med.
2010 Apr;31(4):284-293. 10.4082/kjfm.2010.31.4.284.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of SMS Text Messaging versus Postal Reminder to Improve Attendance after Lipid Lowering Therapy in Primary Care
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Family Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. youngkim@amc.seoul.kr
- 2Department of Family Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- 3Department of Family Medicine, Keimyung University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
- 4Department of Family Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
- 5Department of Family Medicine, Seoul Veterans Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
- 6Department of Family Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Goyang, Korea.
- 7Department of Family Medicine, Jeunju Jesus Hospital, Jeonju, Korea.
- 8Department of Family Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- 9Department of Family Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea.
- KMID: 2234215
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.2010.31.4.284
Abstract
- BACKGROUND
In the primary care setting, compliance with lipid lowering therapy was relatively low. In order to compare the efficacy of a short messaging service (SMS) text messaging and postal reminder as means of improving attendance rates during the first 24 weeks of lipid-lowering therapy, a randomized controlled trial of 918 patients from 19 family practice clinics was conducted between February 2003 and June 2006.
METHODS
Patients were randomly assigned into 3 groups: SMS (327), postal (294),and control (297) group. To ascertain attendance rates, patients were followed up at 24 weeks after their treatment. Reminders were sent at 16 weeks from the coordinating center.
RESULTS
Overall attendance rate was 74.1%. This differed between groups, with 76.1% attendance for the SMS group, 73.5% for the postal group, and 72.4% for the control group. According to a multivariate analysis, the SMS group had a significantly higher attendance rate (Odds ratios [OR] 1.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 2.16) than the control group, but the postal group (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.79 to 1.69) did not. Moreover, the cost per attendance for the SMS reminder (155 Korean Won [KRW]) was much lower than that for the postal reminder (722 KRW).
CONCLUSION
SMS reminder may be more cost saving method to improve the attendance rate compared with the postal reminder.
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