Text Message Reminders Increase Appointment Adherence in a Pediatric Clinic: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background. High no-show rates can burden clinic productivity and affect patient care. Although multiple studies have shown that text messages improve appointment adherence, very little research has focused on low-income and predominantly African American populations in resident clinic settings. Obj...

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Main Authors: Chia-Lei Lin, Nila Mistry, Jordana Boneh, Hong Li, Rina Lazebnik
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-01-01
Series:International Journal of Pediatrics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8487378
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author Chia-Lei Lin
Nila Mistry
Jordana Boneh
Hong Li
Rina Lazebnik
author_facet Chia-Lei Lin
Nila Mistry
Jordana Boneh
Hong Li
Rina Lazebnik
author_sort Chia-Lei Lin
collection DOAJ
description Background. High no-show rates can burden clinic productivity and affect patient care. Although multiple studies have shown that text messages improve appointment adherence, very little research has focused on low-income and predominantly African American populations in resident clinic settings. Objectives. To determine whether incorporating a text message reminder reduces the no-show rate at an urban, pediatric resident clinic. Methods. A randomized controlled trial was conducted at a tertiary level ambulatory pediatric practice between August 2014 and February 2015. Following a demographic survey, 170 patients were enrolled. Patients were randomized into control or intervention groups. All patients received the standard voice message appointment reminder, but the intervention group additionally received a text message reminder. The primary outcome was no-show rate. Results. 95.3% of the participants were African American, and the overall no-show rate was 30.8%. No-show rate was significantly lower in the intervention group (23.5%) than the control group (38.1%) representing a difference of 14.6% (p=0.04). No demographic factors were found to alter the association between no-show rate and text message intervention. Conclusions. Text message reminders effectively improve show rates at a resident pediatric practice with high no-show rates, representing a promising approach to improving appointment adherence.
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series International Journal of Pediatrics
spelling doaj-art-dd2a2c1f20a247398367ceca5041c6182025-08-20T03:24:26ZengWileyInternational Journal of Pediatrics1687-97401687-97592016-01-01201610.1155/2016/84873788487378Text Message Reminders Increase Appointment Adherence in a Pediatric Clinic: A Randomized Controlled TrialChia-Lei Lin0Nila Mistry1Jordana Boneh2Hong Li3Rina Lazebnik4Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USARainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USARainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USACase Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USARainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USABackground. High no-show rates can burden clinic productivity and affect patient care. Although multiple studies have shown that text messages improve appointment adherence, very little research has focused on low-income and predominantly African American populations in resident clinic settings. Objectives. To determine whether incorporating a text message reminder reduces the no-show rate at an urban, pediatric resident clinic. Methods. A randomized controlled trial was conducted at a tertiary level ambulatory pediatric practice between August 2014 and February 2015. Following a demographic survey, 170 patients were enrolled. Patients were randomized into control or intervention groups. All patients received the standard voice message appointment reminder, but the intervention group additionally received a text message reminder. The primary outcome was no-show rate. Results. 95.3% of the participants were African American, and the overall no-show rate was 30.8%. No-show rate was significantly lower in the intervention group (23.5%) than the control group (38.1%) representing a difference of 14.6% (p=0.04). No demographic factors were found to alter the association between no-show rate and text message intervention. Conclusions. Text message reminders effectively improve show rates at a resident pediatric practice with high no-show rates, representing a promising approach to improving appointment adherence.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8487378
spellingShingle Chia-Lei Lin
Nila Mistry
Jordana Boneh
Hong Li
Rina Lazebnik
Text Message Reminders Increase Appointment Adherence in a Pediatric Clinic: A Randomized Controlled Trial
International Journal of Pediatrics
title Text Message Reminders Increase Appointment Adherence in a Pediatric Clinic: A Randomized Controlled Trial
title_full Text Message Reminders Increase Appointment Adherence in a Pediatric Clinic: A Randomized Controlled Trial
title_fullStr Text Message Reminders Increase Appointment Adherence in a Pediatric Clinic: A Randomized Controlled Trial
title_full_unstemmed Text Message Reminders Increase Appointment Adherence in a Pediatric Clinic: A Randomized Controlled Trial
title_short Text Message Reminders Increase Appointment Adherence in a Pediatric Clinic: A Randomized Controlled Trial
title_sort text message reminders increase appointment adherence in a pediatric clinic a randomized controlled trial
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8487378
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