Cell Phone Photos Help In Meth Treatment

Researchers have come up with a simple and apparently effective way for doctors to make sure their methamphetamine patients are taking their medication to fight their addiction – cell phone photos.

According to a report from Newswise, researchers from the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute gave 20 meth patients camera-equipped cell phones.

They told them to take pictures of themselves taking their daily medication, and then email the pictures to their doctors.

“Clinicians asking their patients to photograph themselves while taking medications may serve as another way of stressing the importance of medication taking,” the researchers wrote.

Monitoring whether a patient is taking their medication is one of the challenges addiction doctors face. However the researchers say, “Innovative uses of cellular telephones offer researchers and clinicians new ways to improve clinical trials and practice.”

The study is published in the September Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.