Text-message Support to Improve Oral Antibiotic Adherence After ED Discharge

Feasibility of Using Text-Message Support to Improve Antibiotic Adherence After ED Discharge

The investigators are testing the hypothesis that patients who are exposed to daily text-message (TM) assessments with feedback will have better adherence to prescription than those patients not exposed to TM-based queries with feedback.

Short course, oral antibiotics are frequently prescribed to patients treated/discharged from the Emergency Department. Medication adherence involves the patient taking the proper daily dosing of prescribed medication for the entire length of time it is prescribed. Previous studies have shown that prescription non-filling rates range from 5 to 20%. Other studies have shown that even if patients fill their prescription, as low as 30-40% will properly take the medication. The purpose of this study is to determine if the proportion of patients discharged from the Emergency Department that are adherent with antibiotics is higher in patients that are provided TM support using self-report.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Ages 18 and older
• Planned discharge form the ED on oral antibiotics

Exclusion Criteria:

• non-English speaking
• Prisoner
• No personal mobile phone with text message features