London pharmacies use SMS for stop smoking drive

31 Jul 2008

Pharmacies in London are to use text messaging to launch a smoking cessation campaign and offer customers support to kick the habit.

The pharmacies will use iPLATO’s Patient Care Messaging for Pharmacies service to validate smoking status, invite “quitters” to smoking cessation services and “follow up” with them over a year.

They will also receive support to launch the service, which reflects pharmacies’ growing role in public health and the government’s emphasis on helping people to make healthy choices.

Salvador Castilla of iPLATO, said: “Increasingly, pharmacies are providing an additional outlet for a selection of services that are also provided by GP surgeries or central clinics.

“This has driven the adoption of approaches and tools that have been shown to successfully support similar services and initiatives elsewhere. Patient Care Messaging is already effectively supporting smoking cessation initiatives in GP surgeries; so we view this as a natural progression.”

A representative from one of the pharmacies said issues of data protection and privacy had been considered. “The primary care trust has developed guidelines to ensure patient safety that we adhere to.

“According to these guidelines, patients can opt out of the service at any time, simply by telling their pharmacist or any of their staff. We would encourage all our customers to hand in their mobile number so that we can reach them with this new service.”

iPLATO says pharmacies will be able to target patients with different conditions. Castilla said: “The two pharmacies participating in the project will utilise recorded client/patient contact details in order to target specific areas of the population, such as pregnant women, patients on chronic disease registers and the economically disadvantaged.

“Would-be ‘quitters’ can be efficiently identified, referred to stop smoking service clinics/support and subsequently followed up via motivational text messages and appointment reminders.”

iPLATO was founded in London in 1999. In 2003, it was awarded a grant by the Department of Trade and Industry to study the feasibility of sending appointment reminders by text message. Its Patient Care Messaging system is now used by 30 primary care trusts and a number of acute hospitals.

Tobias Alpsten, managing director of iPLATO, said: “This [project] will enable pharmacies to better serve their communities and improve their businesses. In the first stage, we aim to enable targeted smoking cessation campaigns.

“In the future, we expect to grow the platform to automated services such as repeat prescription and medication reminders. We hope to create revenue share based partnerships with pharmacy management systems to achieve this goal.”

Link

iPLATO

Joe Fernandez

Reader's Comments

Is it practical?

stressfreedave@hotmail.com

03 Aug 08 12:29

This seems sort of good, but is it realy practical? For the pharmacies to know who to target, the patients GP would need to pass the information on to the pharmacies taking part. Confidentality to one side for a min, is it practical to expect the GP to pass the information on and how would the patient be made aware of it so they can opt-out?

How does the patient know which pharmacies are taking part? Not everyone uses the same pharmacies and I have never come across one that asked if I smoke.

Is it not easier and more practical if pateints were asked about their smooking habits at the time they pick up their rescription? That could allow more pharmacies to take part allowing for more smookers to be targeted.

It asks first

04 Aug 08 11:48

I assume that the system will be the same as used in surgeries. The patient first receives a text enquiring about their smoking status. Those that reply they are smokers then receive more info/invites etc.

Big Brother Pizza Company

04 Aug 08 14:07

It's not clear how (or whether) this system has any integration with CfH systems.

However, it is plain that electronic patient data contain data of both health promotional and commercial value.

The line between health promotion from any other advertising activity can be hard to draw. I argue that drawing that line becomes impossible when centrally imposed clinical targets are used to remunerate or penalise providers. (Only Lord Darzi doesn't call them targets any more but 'outcome' and 'performance').

Is each patient to be asked (either at the surgery or in MyHealthSpace): Would you like from time to time to receive more information about NHS products and services related to your Alcohol consumption Y/N : Constipation Y/N : Depression Y/N etc?

And if you sometimes forget to tick the opt-out box at the bottom of a very long web form (somehow always refreshed back to opt-in when you reload the page) will this happen?

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokebigbrotherpizza.htm

No, it would never happen in the UK where anti-terrorist legislation is invoked by junior 'officials' to enforce minor regulations and DVLA data are sold to private wheel clamping mafioso.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article4036231.ece

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/17/dvla_data_giveaway/

Nothing to hide nothing to fear? Well maybe you don't have anything to hide in your patient record. But have you ever found anything plain wrong about yourself in a third party database and had trouble getting it updated? "The computer says no - but can I sell you something else while you're on the line?"

It's only the postman with his sack of 'profiled' junk mail knocking at my door not the Witchfinder General.

I'll get my coat and hat - they're the ones with the tin foil lining

Dr Malcolm H Duncan (Medical Object Oriented Software).

RE: It asks first

stressfreedave@hotmail.com

04 Aug 08 15:52

The thing I dont get (I might just be a twit) is, how do they get your phone nuber to ask? I have never been asked to provide my phone number when I go to the chemist, so how would they get the number to text people? There is also the question of cost. How much would it cost them to text everyone (18+ I assume) to ask if they smoke?

I cant see how it can work unless the patients GP was to pass on the patients number along with their smooking habits. It might be because I am only a member of the public, but I cant see how the chemist can get hold of the information without ether asking the patient or asking their GP.