BACKGROUND As healthcare services become progressively more stretched, there is increasing discussion of ways in which technological adjuncts may be used to deliver more cost-efficient services. Before widespread implementation, however, the use of these adjuncts requires proper scrutiny of their effects on psychological practice. AIMS This research examined the effectiveness of SMS reminders...

OBJECTIVE Recommendations for routine laboratory monitoring to reduce the risk of adverse medication events are not consistently followed. We evaluated the impact of electronic reminders delivered to primary care physicians on rates of appropriate routine medication laboratory monitoring. DESIGN We enrolled 303 primary care physicians caring for 1,922 patients across 20 ambulatory clinics tha...

BACKGROUND Clients diagnosed and treated for Chlamydia trachomatis are a recognised high-risk group for subsequent infection. An estimated 8% of clients treated for chlamydia at Cairns Sexual Health Service return for re-testing within the recommended 3-4-month period. There is no recall or reminder system in place. This study assesses the effectiveness of using short messaging service (SMS) re...

BACKGROUND HIV infection is clinically managed with antiretroviral therapy (ART), but only with sustained adherence. Cost-efficient interventions to improve and sustain ART adherence remain a pressing priority for populations challenged by nonadherence. The aim of this study was to test the independent and interactive effects of (1) brief phone-delivered self-regulation counseling and (2) daily...

There is a growing consensus that our food-rich living environment contributes to rising numbers of people with overweight and obesity. Low-cost, effective intervention tools are needed to facilitate healthy eating behavior, especially when eating away from home. Therefore, we present a field experiment in a restaurant that tested whether providing subtle environmental diet reminders increases ...

BACKGROUND Mobile phoned-based interventions have been increasingly used in clinical populations to improve health and health care delivery. The literature has shown that mobile phone-based text messages (short message service, SMS) are instantaneous, cost effective, and have less chance of being misplaced. Studies using mobile phone based-text messages have reported text messages as effective ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of cellular telephone text messaging as a reminder tool for improving adherence to sunscreen application. DESIGN We conducted a randomized, controlled trial of the effect of an electronic text-message reminder system on adherence to sunscreen application. Adherence to daily sunscreen use was evaluated using a novel electronic monitoring device. SETTIN...

Assistive technologies which provide reminders to assist older people in decision making, particularly in a just-in-time fashion, have significant potential to help older people and their carers. However the requirements of these technologies are not well understood and demonstration systems often rely on complex equipment which is difficult to imagine installed in a normal home setting. This s...