Monday, December 12, 2011

BMC Ophthalmology

), which permits unrestricted put into practice, allotment, and printing in any mid, provided the first toil is adappropriately cited. Abstract Experience

Non-attendance prep health centre outpatient appointments is a momentous difficulty in myriad countries. It causes suboptimal make use of of clinical and administrative standard and pecuniary losses, as fountain as longer waiting times. The employ of Slight Report Help (SMS) date reminders potentially offers a cost-effective and time-efficient plan to decline non-attendance and so improve the competence of outpatient healthcare distribution.

An SMS wording report was sent to patients with scheduled appointments between April and September 2006 in a health centre ophthalmology department in London, reminding them of their appointments. This assemblage acted as the intervention gathering. Controls were patients with scheduled ophthalmology appointments who did not obtain an SMS or any alternate cue.

During the interval of the con, 11.2% (50/447) of patients who received an SMS meeting mnemonic were non-attenders, compared to 18.1% (1720/9512) who did not obtain an SMS mnemonic. Non-attendance rates were 38% above. in patients who received an SMS reminder than in patients who did not get a refresher (RR of non-attendance = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.48 – 0.80).

The put into practice of SMS reminders representing ophthalmology outpatient appointments was associated with a reduction of 38% in the strong of patients not attending their appointments, compared to no meeting refresher. The make use of of SMS reminders may also be more cost-effective than customary date reminders and ask (for) less (hard) work. These findings should be confirmed with a more rigorous study think of already a wider roll-out.

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