Comparison of an SMS text messaging and phone reminder to improve attendance at a health promotion center: A randomized controlled trial

Chen, Zhou-wen; Fang, Lizheng; Chen, Liying; Dai, Hang

doi:10.1631/jzus.b071464

Cited by 212 publications

(194 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Three studies demonstrated improvements in clinic attendance with text messaging reminders versus no reminder. In three studies, [38][39][40] studied the effectiveness of an Internet-based diabetes education program with SMS and e-mail reminders and found that only 77 (39%) of the treatment arm logged-on to the online education program, and of these subjects, 34 (44%) logged-on once, 12 (16%) logged-on twice, and 31 (40%) logged-on more than three times. When subjects were asked about the number of times they logged-on, 22 (14%) stated that they had used the Web site when in fact a log-in was not recorded.…”

Section: Process Of Carementioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Mobile Health Interventions on Chronic Disease Outcomes in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review

Beratarrechea¹,

Lee

Willner

et al. 2014

Telemedicine and e-Health

364

281

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Introduction: Rates of chronic diseases will continue to rise in developing countries unless effective and cost-effective interventions are implemented. This review aims to discuss the impact of mobile health (m-health) on chronic disease outcomes in low-and middleincome countries (LMIC). Materials and Methods: Systematic literature searches were performed using CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and LILACS databases and gray literature. Scientific literature was searched to identify controlled studies evaluating cell phone voice and text message interventions to address chronic diseases in adults in low-or middle-income countries. Outcomes measured included morbidity, mortality, hospitalization rates, behavioral or lifestyle changes, process of care improvements, clinical outcomes, costs, patient-provider satisfaction, compliance, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Results: From the 1,709 abstracts retrieved, 163 articles were selected for full text review, including 9 randomized controlled trials with 4,604 participants. Most of the studies addressed more than one outcome. Of the articles selected, six studied clinical outcomes, six studied processes of care, three examined healthcare costs, and two examined HRQoL. M-health positively impacted on chronic disease outcomes, improving attendance rates, clinical outcomes, and HRQoL, and was cost-effective. Conclusions: M-health is emerging as a promising tool to address access, coverage, and equity gaps in developing countries and low-resource settings. The results for mhealth interventions showed a positive impact on chronic diseases in LMIC. However, a limiting factor of this review was the relatively small number of studies and patients enrolled, highlighting the need for more rigorous research in this area in developing countries.

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Section: Process Of Carementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chen et al 38 and Leong et al, 39 whose studies showed that SMS and telephone reminders improve appointment attendance rates, evaluated cost-effectiveness as a secondary outcome. SMS was found to be 35% and 45% less expensive, respectively, per attendance than telephone reminders.…”

Section: Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Mobile Health Interventions on Chronic Disease Outcomes in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review

Beratarrechea¹,

Lee

Willner

et al. 2014

Telemedicine and e-Health

364

281

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…79,84 Successful contact is assumed when the mobile phone indicates "message sent" being received by the sender. 44,59,66 However, many patients may either not receive their SMS reminder or may receive and ignore a reminder that was not intended for them due to incorrect data entry on hospital systems. 77,79 Some clients may not receive their text message until after their scheduled appointment because of delays in delivery of the text or because their phones were switched off, out of battery or out of credit.…”

Section: Accuracy Of Patient Recordsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Appointment reminder systems are effective but not optimal: Results of a systematic review and evidence synthesis employing realist principles

et al. 2016

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Abstract:Missed appointments are an avoidable cost and resource inefficiency which impact upon the health of the patient and treatment outcomes. Health care services are increasingly utilizing reminder systems to manage these negative effects. This study explores the effectiveness of reminder systems for promoting attendance, cancellations, and rescheduling of appointments across all health care settings and for particular patient groups and the contextual factors which indicate that reminders are being employed sub-optimally. We used three inter-related reviews of quantitative and qualitative evidence. Firstly, using pre-existing models and theories, we developed a conceptual framework to inform our understanding of the contexts and mechanisms which influence reminder effectiveness. Secondly, we performed a review following Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines to investigate the effectiveness of different methods of reminding patients to attend health service appointments. Finally, to supplement the effectiveness information, we completed a review informed by realist principles to identify factors likely to influence non-attendance behaviors and the effectiveness of reminders. We found consistent evidence that all types of reminder systems are effective at improving appointment attendance across a range of health care settings and patient populations. Reminder systems may also increase cancellation and rescheduling of unwanted appointments. "Reminder plus", which provides additional information beyond the reminder function may be more effective than simple reminders (ie, date, time, place) at reducing non-attendance at appointments in particular circumstances. We identified six areas of inefficiency which indicate that reminder systems are being used sub-optimally. Unless otherwise indicated, all patients should receive a reminder to facilitate attendance at their health care appointment. The choice of reminder system should be tailored to the individual service. To optimize appointment and reminder systems, health care services need supportive administrative processes to enhance attendance, cancellation, rescheduling, and re-allocation of appointments to other patients.

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“…Moreover, while this intervention is thought to be cost effective in clinics with high baseline noshow rates, the efficacy is less clear when baseline no-show rates are low. 18,19,30,31 Nevertheless, even in practices with low baseline no-show rates, the risk of no-show is heterogeneous-that is, some patients are more likely of noshows than others. 9,10,28,29,[32][33][34] Prior work has effectively demonstrated that no-shows are predictable; validated models can accurately predict the likelihood that a patient will fail to keep a scheduled appointment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Targeted Reminder Phone Calls to Patients at High Risk of No-Show for Primary Care Appointment: A Randomized Trial

et al. 2016

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BACKGROUND: No-shows, or missed appointments, are a problem for many medical practices. They result in fragmented care and reduce access for all patients. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether telephone reminder calls targeted to patients at high risk of no-show can reduce no-show rates. DESIGN: Single-center randomized controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2247 primary care patients in a hospital-based primary care clinic at high risk of no-show (>15 % risk) for their appointment in 7 days. INTERVENTION: Seven days prior to their appointment, intervention arm patients were placed in a calling queue to receive a reminder phone call from a patient service coordinator. Coordinators were trained to engage patients in concrete planning. All patients received an automated phone call (usual care). MAIN MEASURES: Primary outcome was no-show rate. Secondary outcomes included arrival rate, cancellation rate, reschedule rate, time to cancellation, and change in revenue. KEY RESULTS: The no-show rate in the intervention arm (22.8 %) was significantly lower (absolute risk difference −6.4 %, p < 0.01, 95 % CI [−9.8 to −3.0 %]) than that in the control arm (29.2 %). Arrival, cancellation, and reschedule rates did not differ significantly. In the intervention arm, rescheduling and cancellations occurred further in advance of the appointment (mean difference, 0.35 days; 95 % CI [0.07-0.64]; p = 0.01). Reimbursement did not differ significantly. CONCLUSIONS: A phone call 7 days prior to an appointment led to a significant reduction in no-shows and increased reimbursement among patients at high risk of noshow. The use of targeted interventions may be of interest to practices taking on increased accountability for population health.KEY WORDS: access to care; applied informatics; primary care redesign; behavior change; population health.

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Comparison of an SMS text messaging and phone reminder to improve attendance at a health promotion center: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract: SMS and telephone are effective reminders for improving attendance rate at a health promotion center. SMS reminder may be more cost-effective compared with the telephone reminder.

Cited by 212 publications

References 22 publications

The Impact of Mobile Health Interventions on Chronic Disease Outcomes in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review

The Impact of Mobile Health Interventions on Chronic Disease Outcomes in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review

Appointment reminder systems are effective but not optimal: Results of a systematic review and evidence synthesis employing realist principles

Targeted Reminder Phone Calls to Patients at High Risk of No-Show for Primary Care Appointment: A Randomized Trial

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