Text message services speed health info to those in a hurry

By Wall Street Journal
Published December 18, 2007

Text messaging is part of an emerging wave of technology that allows consumers to get instant health information through their cell phones.

Text messaging is quick and private. It is easier to recall and easier to respond to than voice-mail. And unlike e-mail, it doesn't require an e-mail device when people are on the go.

In England, women have received text reminders to take their birth-control pills. In Australia, texting helped AIDS patients adhere to complicated drug regimens. A study in New Zealand found that smoking-cessation programs were more effective in conjunction with supportive text messages. In one study in Scotland, young diabetics could send a text message to doctors to check how to modify their insulin treatment after eating certain foods or drinking alcohol.

The San Francisco Health Department started a texting service for sexual health information last year, in response to rising gonorrhea rates among young people.

Callers can request answers to common questions, as well as details about health services available in town.

According to a preliminary evaluation of the system, called SexInfo, more than 4,500 inquiries were received in the first 25 weeks. The top three messages that were accessed:

-"What 2 do if ur condom broke."

-"2 find out about STDs."

-"If u think ur pregnant."

In the United States, health texting "is just starting up," says Jonathan Linkous, executive director of the American Telemedicine Association, a trade group in Washington.

Linkous says the organization is developing guidelines on the appropriate use of messaging for delivering health information.

"There are obviously times when "telemedicine" is inappropriate," he said. "Texting someone to tell them they have cancer is one of them."

In some cases, texting involves a language all its own in order to squeeze enough information onto tiny cell phone screens. Such abbreviated "text speak" is familiar to the instant-message generation, but can be confusing to those born before then.

The majority of the programs don't cost users more than they already pay for text messages through their phone plans. For the most part, all kinds of cell phones work.

Some businesses are beginning to capitalize on the concept. Intelecare Compliance Solutions Inc., of New Haven, Conn., sells a service that sends text, e-mail or voice-mail messages reminding users to take their pills, refill prescriptions or check vital signs.

Drug companies, insurers and large employers hoping to improve efficiency and decrease absenteeism are Intelecare's main customers, says chief executive Kevin Aniskovich, 35.

Next year, Aniskovich says, the company will start a direct-to-consumer service that for $60 a year will offer reminders about prescriptions and appointments.

For dieters, a company named Sensei Inc., in Boca Raton, part-owned by insurer Humana, will send weight-loss advice and information to Sprint and AT&T mobile phone users; weekly fees start at $5.75. The information shows up in a multimedia format, rather than a text message.

In mental health, Linkous, of the telemedicine association, says his group is working with psychiatrists and others to develop clinical guidelines on "telemental health," which would cover the kinds of technology that might be appropriate for counseling patients with specific conditions.

The U.S. Army is trying to get funding for a program that could support soldiers with brain injuries. The project would send daily questions to patients' cell phones to determine whether they are adhering to therapy programs. Staffers would assess patients' responses to decide whether additional help is needed.

[Last modified December 18, 2007, 15:28:35]