Acne smart club: an educational program for patients with acne.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate adherence to therapy in acne patients using mobile phones and Short Message Service (SMS) to communicate.

METHODS

160 patients were randomly assigned to two groups: the SMS group received 2 text messages twice a day for a period of 12 weeks; the control group did not receive any messages. Before and after 12 weeks, the following evaluations were performed in all patients: digital photographs, the Global Acne Grading System, the Dermatology Life Quality Index, the Cardiff Acne Disability Index, the doctor-patient relationship evaluated through the Patient-Doctor Depth-of-Relationship Scale, and the adherence to treatment evaluated by asking patients how many days a week they had followed the therapy. For statistical analysis we used Student's t test.

RESULTS

The SMS group had a better improvement of all parameters compared to the control group.

CONCLUSION

Adherence and compliance are higher for patients who are included in a strategy of control.