Texts may help people with diabetes manage care (USA)

What if a doctor's orders were as simple as two text messages a day to keep the ER at bay? A recent study published in Annals of Emergency Medicine used an automated mobile health (mHealth) program to reach low-income inner-city patients with type 2 diabetes and engage them in their own health and disease management outside of emergency facilities. Researchers recruited 128 participants who had sought care for diabetes at the Los Angeles County Hospital of the University of Southern California ED. The study reported that the largest safety-net hospital in the county's public care system annually serves 170,000 patients, 70 percent of them Latino. Study participants could choose English or Spanish versions of the messages, which offered tips on healthy behavior and disease management and did not require a smartphone to receive