Text Message Appointment Reminders

Emergencies Clinical Trial

— TAR  

Official title:

A Text-message Appointment Reminder System to Improve Patient Adherence With Outpatient Follow-up Appointments

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01676337
• Other study ID #: HS-12-00239
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: August 28, 2012
• Last updated: May 26, 2015
• Start date: July 2012
• Est. completion date: July 2013

Study information

• Verified date: May 2015
• Source: University of Southern California
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Institutional Review Board
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This project proposes administer and evaluate via a randomized controlled trail a text message-based appointment reminder system to promote attendance at clinic appointments after ED discharge.

Description:

Failure to attend scheduled clinic appointments causes inefficiency within the healthcare system, and frequently results in ED visits for non-emergent conditions such as medication refills, ambulatory care sensitive conditions which are potentially preventable with appropriate outpatient management (e.g. foot infections). Many patients seen in the ED report they were unaware of past or future outpatient appointments for which they had been scheduled. These patients are clearly in need of primary care, yet fail to attend 30% of all scheduled outpatient appointments. Patients most often report that they failed to attend scheduled appointments as a result of forgetfulness or confusion regarding dates, times, or locations. National data confirmed by our previous work in the LAC+USC ED demonstrates that > 80% of this population reports using a text-capable mobile device. The investigators believe a system of text message appointment reminders has tremendous potential to facilitate clinic attendance among these patients in desperate need of primary care.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 374
• Est. completion date: July 2013
• Est. primary completion date: July 2013
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age >18

• Able to provide consent and read in English or Spanish

• Have a text message capable mobile phone

• Know how to receive text messages

• Have upcoming scheduled clinic appointments

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unable to provide written informed consent

• Incarcerated

• Critically ill

• Altered Mental Status

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Health Services Research

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Emergencies
• Text Messages

Intervention

Other:
• Text message appointment reminder
Patients randomized to the intervention arm will receive text message appointment reminders including date, time, and location seven, three and one day prior to their scheduled clinic appointments. All appointment reminders will then be delivered automatically.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	University of Southern California	Los Angeles	California

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Southern California

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Adherence with scheduled appointments within 30 days post-enrollment		30 days	No
Secondary	Adherence with scheduled appointments within 6 months post-enrollment		6 months	No