Clickatell Helps Healthcare Organizations Worldwide Realize the Benefits of SMS
April 15, 2008 Cell-Life, ComplyRx and the National Health Service Select Clickatell Enterprise Messaging to Offer ‘Anywhere, Anytime’ Access to Critical Healthcare Information Redwood City, CA: April 15, 2008 – Clickatell, leading provider of global mobile messaging solutions, today announced it has been chosen by leading healthcare organizations including Cell-Life, ComplyRx and the National Health Service (NHS) to provide mobile solutions that deliver critical medical information to cell phones across the globe. These innovative organizations are leading the healthcare industry by providing secure mobile messaging solutions which is changing the way the healthcare industry communicates with consumers and patients across the globe. There are also significant financial advantages available to healthcare companies who take advantage of SMS over traditional methods of communications. For example, having launched its service using Clickatell in 2006, the NHS has seen a 60% cost savings and has reached over 90% of its intended audience, providing information they need to live healthier lives. “Healthcare organizations are receiving pressure to curb the rising cost of healthcare and they need to find ways to communicate with their customers in an efficient and cost-effective way. By leveraging SMS technology to better inform and communicate with their customers using cell phones, they are able to deliver superior services,” said Pieter de Villiers, CEO of Clickatell. “With global cell phone penetration now exceeding 70% of households including those in lower income demographics, people can access life-saving medical advice at critical times, subscribe to preventative healthcare information, participate in remote treatment options, curb disease outbreaks, and improve prescription compliance.” Taking advantage of ubiquitous text messaging, healthcare organizations worldwide can initiate a broad range of mobile communication initiatives at minimum cost and with a great deal of flexibility, security and convenience. Using SMS, the healthcare industry can reach more people in more places with critical healthcare information they need and seek. Using Clickatell, these leading healthcare providers and partners are improving people’s lives through innovative solutions: • ComplyRx, an independent healthcare company based in Georgia, helps physicians and patients establish interactive, direct communications to promote medical compliance. The company is also working to improve adherence to clinical and hospital discharge instructions to decrease the probability of re-admission after hospital treatment. With the help of Clickatell, patients and caregivers can receive regular SMS and email notifications to help patients follow their doctors’ recommended medical plans. “We set out to help doctors communicate with their patients long after the critical treatment. Doctors may or may not be familiar with the innovative technologies to help them efficiently and intimately stay in touch with their patients to remain an important part of the daily process of getting well,” commented Blain Burdette, President of ComplyRx. “Text messaging provides an inexpensive and convenient way for doctors to communicate with patients or caregivers to remind them of important medical treatments, and Clickatell was the best choice because they ensure that critical messages don’t get lost or dropped.” • UK-based Heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust, part of the National Health Service (NHS) has been using SMS to disseminate health information and medical advice to over 300,000 people in their growing community. Working with Clickatell and 123 Consultants, the NHS’s goal is to raise awareness around health issues such as diet, drugs and safe sex among the general public, with a specific focus on teen health. To benefit from the NHS service, people simply text “stop smoking,” for example, to receive relevant information about a specific health topic. Given a teenager’s need for immediacy and privacy when it comes to various health questions, this service is especially important for them to be able to receive legitimate and trusted information to answer their questions around sex, pregnancy, drugs, and other critical health issues. According to Phil Colledge of 123 Consultants, “Typically this important information has been spread via printed leaflets, which often only reached 1% of the intended audience. By comparison, SMS reaches over 90% of its intended audience, at around 50–60 % of the cost.” • Cell-Life, a non-profit organization, is using SMS to disseminate educational material about HIV/AIDS management and prevention to South African citizens. Cell-Life also uses cell phones to collect data about people with HIV/AIDS and support treatment of people with Anti-Retroviral Treatment. When talking about HIV/AIDS, confidentiality is incredibly important, and the intimacy of one’s personal cell phone is a perfect tool to communicate medication reminders, drug breakthrough’s and updates on medical plans according to the doctor’s orders. “The simplicity and intimacy of an individual’s cell phone makes SMS an effective means of personal communications. Clickatell’s excellent functionality, especially their two-way SMS for real time communications, made them our partner of choice,” says Dr. Peter Benjamin, general manager of Cell-Life. “Clickatell’s ability to provide guaranteed delivery is absolutely vital in making sure we get the right message to the right people at the right time.”
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