Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention: Mobile Health (mHealth) Interventions for Treatment Adherence among Newly Diagnosed Patients

The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends mobile health (mHealth) interventions to improve treatment adherence among patients recently diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. mHealth interventions showed improvements in medication adherence, outpatient follow-up, and adherence to self-management goals. They must have content that is accessible through mobile-phones, smartphones, or other hand-held devices and include 1 or more of the following: 

• Text-messages that provide information or encouragement for treatment adherence
• Text-message reminders for medications, appointments, or treatment goals
• Web-based content that can be viewed on mobile devices
• Apps developed or selected for the intervention with goal-setting, reminder functions, or both 

Interventions also may include: an interactive component; mobile communication or direct contact with a healthcare provider; web-based content.