One third of U.S. consumers are interested in receiving text message reminders from their doctors to take prescribed medicine, according to the Locent Text Adherence Survey, in which the mHealth technology vendor polled 1,000 consumers with help from Google.

Millennials are the age demographic most interested in text reminders from doctors, the survey found. And 39 percent of consumers ages 18-24 years old said they were interested in receiving text message reminders from their doctors to take prescribed medicine. More than 31 million Americans make up that age group; consequently, that would mean 12 million consumers ages 18-24 years old are interested in receiving these reminders. That compares with only 22 percent of consumers ages 55–64 years old, the survey said.

At 36 percent, men are more likely than women, at 29 percent, to desire text reminders for taking medicine as prescribed. Locent and Google said these findings indicate text messaging could be a good conduit between doctors and male patients given that, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, men are 80 percent less likely than women to use their healthcare providers.

Consumers in the South were the most interested by region in text messages, with 40 percent in that area saying they would like text reminders. This could be good news for healthcare executives who believe new technology and telemedicine may be able to make up for the lack of one-on-one care time U.S. consumers have with their primary care physicians, especially in the southern states. There are only 91 primary care physicians per 100,000 consumers in the country, and that number falls even lower in the South, Locent and Google said.

Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT
Email the writer: bill.siwicki@himssmedia.com

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