A Nudge that Works: Cell Phone Minutes for Taking Your Meds

Take TB Meds, Get Mobile Minutes, a program to boost TB drug compliance rewards patients with cell-phone minutes:

This is an excellent example of a nudge to address the problem of tuberculosis patients not completing their drug therapy, which can cause drug-resistance strains of TB. It fits the criteria for "How to Nudge" because:

• It addresses a well-defined behavior or choice: getting patients to keep taking the drugs daily for six months or more.
• It respects people’s right to choose—they are not penalized or pressured to make another choice.
• It place an alternative in front of people at the moment they need to make a choice: the reaction on the diagnostic paper reveals a code that the patient texts in immediately, and gets rewarded with cell phone minutes for doing so.
• It uses the highly-effective technique of environmental reminders—people respond to reminders and deadlines, and are much more responsive to small, immediate incentives—in this case free cell phone minutes.
• Processes lilke this that help people remember their commitments are best for decisions where it’s challenging to continuously keep on track, like taking your meds.
• It addresses a problem (not taking meds) where there are delayed consequences, and in this case, countervailing pressures (the desire to avoid the side-effects of the drug).