Bidirectional Text Messaging to Improve Adherence to Recommended Lipid Testing.

Background: Synergies between technology and health care in the United States are accelerating, increasing opportunities to leverage these technologies to improve patient care.

Methods: This study was a collaboration between an academic study team, a rural primary care clinic, and a local nonprofit informatics company developing tools to improve patient care through population management. Our team created a text messaging management tool, then developed methods for and tested the feasibility of bidirectional text messaging to remind eligible patients about the need for lipid testing.

Governance strategies for conducting text messaging interventions in clinical research.

There is increasing interest in medical text messaging interventions being used to achieve positive patient outcomes across a range of clinical research and health practice environments. Short messaging service (SMS) is a low-cost tool that provides an easy communication route to engage potentially broad populations through text messaging, and is part of the growing social trend toward increased adoption of personal communication technologies by patient populations. Testing the effectiveness and impact of various communication strategies requires navigation of a complex web of clinical and research regulations and oversight mechanisms.