Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2012 Apr;47(2):614-32.
doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2011.01342.x. Epub 2011 Nov 8.

How effective are short message service reminders at increasing clinic attendance? A meta-analysis and systematic review

Rebecca Guy  1 , Jane Hocking, Handan Wand, Sam Stott, Hammad Ali, John Kaldor
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

How effective are short message service reminders at increasing clinic attendance? A meta-analysis and systematic review

Rebecca Guy et al. Health Serv Res. 2012 Apr.

Abstract

Background and objectives: In the last few years there has been a steady uptake of mobile phone short message service (SMS) reminders to increase medical attendance rates. We undertook a review of studies that assessed the effectiveness of SMS reminders at increasing the uptake of appointments in health care settings.

Methods: We reviewed studies which involved a comparison of appointment attendance rates between patients who did and did not receive SMS reminders published prior to June 2010. We used meta-analysis methods to calculate the overall effect on attendance rates, stratified by study design and clinic type.

Results: The review criteria were met by 18 reports, made up of eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 10 controlled observational studies. Across all studies, there was significant heterogeneity in the estimated effect measure of the relationship between use of SMS reminders and clinic attendance (I(2) = 90 percent; p < .01), so a summary effect estimate was not calculated. Stratification by study design showed that the heterogeneity was due to the observational studies. The summary effect from the RCTs was 1.48 (95% CI: 1.23-1.72) with no significant subgroup differences by clinic type (primary care clinics, hospital outpatient clinics), message timing (24, 48, and 72+ hours before the scheduled appointment), and target age group (pediatric, older).

Conclusions: Short message service reminders in health care settings substantially increase the likelihood of attending clinic appointments. SMS reminders appear to be a simple and efficient option for health services to use to improve service delivery, as well as resulting in health benefits for the patients who receive the reminders.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Funnel Plot for Studies on Effect of Short Message Service (SMS) Interventions on Attendance, Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) Only (n = 8)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Meta-Analysis of Short Message Service (SMS) Interventions to Increase Attendance, by Study Type
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Atun AR, Sittampalam SR, Mohan A. Uses and Benefits of SMS in Healthcare Delivery. London: Centre for Health Management, Tanaka Business School, Imperial College; 2005.
    1. van Baar JD, Joosten H, Car J, Freeman GK, Partridge MR, van Weel C, Sheikh A. Understanding Reasons for Asthma Outpatient (Non)-Attendance and Exploring the Role of Telephone and e-Consulting in Facilitating Access to Care: Exploratory Qualitative Study. Quality & Safety in Health Care. 2006;15(3):191–5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Battistotti A, Quaglini S, Cuoco E. Reducing Dropouts in Outpatient Care through an SMS-Based System. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics. 2006;124:935–40. - PubMed
    1. Bos A, Hoogstraten J, Prahl-Andersen B. Failed Appointments in an Orthodontic Clinic. American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics. 2005;127(3):355–7. - PubMed
    1. Bowen S, Dewar P. Out-Patient Reform. 3rd Health Information Technology Forum (HITWA08) ‘E-Health Landscapes’. Perth, Australia: 2008.

Publication types