SMS reminders reduce hospital no-shows
Sending SMS messages to remind people of hospital appointments can reduce no-shows by 50%, according to a study in the Australian Health Review, the journal of the Australian Healthcare Association.
The research studied over 45,000 people with scheduled appointments at a major Melbourne hospital. Half of the people were sent SMS text messages reminding them of their appointment and the others did not receive a reminder.
90.2% of the people who received SMS messages attended their appointment – compared with 80.5% of those who did not receive a reminder SMS.
