SMS Alerts Help Halve Missed Appointments

Text messaging is helping cut the number of patients missing hospital appointments.

A trial at Addenbrooke's Hospital's dermatology clinic has been running since July 2003.

Ade Adigun-Harris, Service Delivery Manager for Dermatology, explained: "Before starting this service, 8% of our new patient appointments were missed. Because some of our sessions are booked for 40 minutes, this meant that a lot of valuable clinic time was wasted. Introducing initiatives such as the text messaging service, as well as a scheme where new patients can phone and book an appointment time to suit them, has reduced our missed new appointments rate by half."

When new patients are referred to the clinic, they are asked if they would like to join the scheme to be reminded of their appointment by text message. Four to five days before their appointment date a text message reminder is sent to patients' mobile phones, stating that they have an appointment at Addenbrooke's and its date and time, but for confidentiality, does not name the clinic. Patients then have the opportunity to change their appointment if they are unable to make the original slot.

Ade Adigun-Harris continued: "The scheme has been easy to set up and economical to run – each text costs less than a second class stamp and uses hardly any manpower. "

Following the success of the trial so far, it is being considered to extend the scheme to follow-up appointments and even to remind people to take their medication at certain times.