title: Medication adherence among homeless patients: a pilot study of cell phone effectiveness.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined the feasibility of using cell phones to monitor medication adherence among homeless participants and collected data for research purposes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten homeless individuals with a co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders who were receiving psychopharmacologic treatment participated in the study. All psychopharmacologic treatment was provided by a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Cell phones were provided to participants with unlimited phone service for 45 days. An automated telephone system was programmed to call participants daily for 30 days. All participant responses were reported to a computer and reviewed by study staff on a daily basis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The automated calls reached study participants 93% of days and, when reached, participants reported 100% adherence with the prescribed medication regimen. Exit interviews indicated strong support for the usefulness of the phone and the value of the call and survey as reminders to take their medication. No patients dropped out of this study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This pilot study establishes the feasibility of using cell phones to monitor and manage medication regimens for hard-to-reach populations, such as the homeless with co-occurring disorders. It also establishes that this technology would work for research data collection.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. cburd001@son.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Charon
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Burda
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haack
authors.forename: Ana C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.forename: Farrokh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alemi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D040421:Cell Phone; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D004360:Drug Therapy, Computer-Assisted; D005260:Female; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland; D055118:Medication Adherence; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017010:Reminder Systems; D057566:Self Report; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*