Supportive Text Messages Reduce Acute Mental Health Utilization and Healthcare Cost
In a study aimed to examine the effectiveness of supportive text messaging (hereinafter "SMS") and SMS with or without peer support service on hospital readmission and length of stay after discharge from inpatient psychiatric care, compared to treatment as usual, SMS with or without peer support service reduced hospital readmissions 6 months pre- and post index admission by an average of 0.26 admissions, and SMS alone reduced inpatient length of stays 6 months pre- and post index admission by an average of 7.28 days.