Key Takeaways on Patient Appointment Reminder Statistics:
An overwhelming 97% of studies (28 out of 29) in a systematic review demonstrated that patient reminders effectively improved attendance rates.
Patients receiving appointment reminders showed a weighted mean relative reduction in non-attendance of 34% from baseline rates, according to the systematic review.
According to a February 26, 2019 MGMA Stat poll, 88% of healthcare leaders' organizations implement automated appointment reminders, while 11% do not use them and 1% were unsure.
Text messaging has become the predominant method for appointment reminders among healthcare organizations, reportedly delivering greater efficiency and effectiveness than voice messaging.
Automated reminder systems (including SMS text messages and automated voice recordings) demonstrated a mean cost of €0.14 per contacted patient, compared to €0.90 for manual telephone reminders.
1. Effectiveness of Appointment Reminders
General and specialized care appointments experience no-show rates ranging between 5% and 30%.
Prior to reminder system implementation, the 29 studies analyzed showed a median Did Not Attend (DNA) rate of 23% for scheduled hospital appointments.
Following reminder system implementation, these same studies revealed the median Did Not Attend (DNA) rate dropped to 13% of scheduled hospital appointments.
An overwhelming 97% of studies (28 out of 29) in a systematic review demonstrated that patient reminders effectively improved attendance rates.
Patients receiving appointment reminders showed a weighted mean relative reduction in non-attendance of 34% from baseline rates, according to the systematic review.
Across all medical practices, Adelante Healthcare reduced its no-show rate by an average of 35%, bringing it down from 18-20% to 13% for specialist treatment.
When consumers receive SMS appointment reminders, less than 5% of these appointments end up being canceled, as one study indicates.
In a private orthodontic practice that allowed patients to select their preferred reminder method, the overall no-show rate across 1193 appointments was just 2.43%.
Research found no significant correlation between a reminder's timing (days before appointment) and its effectiveness in reducing patient non-attendance.
Adding a daily reminder touchpoint to complement weekly messages increases the confirmation rate by an additional 26%.
While medical specialties typically achieve confirmation rates of approximately 60%, dental practices often exceed confirmation rates of 80%.
2. Comparison of Reminder Methods
According to systematic review findings, manual phone calls decreased non-attendance rates by 39% of baseline value, while automated reminders (SMS or automated calls) achieved a reduction of 29%.
Show rates for email and SMS text appointment reminders fell below those of phone call reminders, with SMS text demonstrating the lowest no-show rate at 19%.
Within the orthodontic practice study, phone call reminders resulted in a no-show rate of 3.49%.
The orthodontic practice recorded a no-show rate of 2.68% for patients receiving email reminders.
SMS text reminders proved most effective in the orthodontic practice with the lowest no-show rate at 1.90%.
Text messages have an immediate open rate of 90% at the moment of delivery.
No statistically significant differences were identified between the three patient-selected reminder methods (text, email, and phone call), as indicated by the P value of .569.
Text messaging has become the predominant method for appointment reminders among healthcare organizations, reportedly delivering greater efficiency and effectiveness than voice messaging.
3. Patient Preferences for Reminder Types
When surveyed about preferred appointment alert methods, 48% of respondents indicated a preference for text messages.
Gender differences emerged in reminder preferences, with 42% of men and 51% of women expressing a preference for text message appointment reminders.
A substantial 75% of millennials consider text appointment reminders to be beneficial.
Despite common assumptions about technology adoption resistance among older adults, 34% of patients aged 65 and older reported preferring text message appointment reminders.
For appointment cancellations or postponements, 64% of poll participants favored phone calls as their preferred method, while approximately 25% selected text messaging.
Among the 1193 appointments tracked in the study, email emerged as the most preferred reminder method, selected for 53.1% (634) of appointments.
SMS text reminders ranked as the second most popular choice among patients, selected for 39.6% (473) of all tracked appointments.
Phone call reminders were least favored by patients, chosen for only 7.2% (86) of the total 1193 appointments monitored.
4. Cost Analysis of Reminder Systems
The systematic review included cost estimates for reminder interventions in 55% of studies (16 out of 29).
Across the 14 studies that documented financial data, the average expense per patient reminder was €0.41 (encompassing SMS, automated phone calls, and manual phone calls).
Healthcare staff making manual telephone reminders incurred a mean cost of €0.90 per contacted patient.
Automated reminder systems (including SMS text messages and automated voice recordings) demonstrated a mean cost of €0.14 per contacted patient.
5. Market and Implementation Statistics
The systematic review evaluated 29 studies on appointment reminders, with four studies containing two intervention arms, yielding a total of 33 estimates of reminder effectiveness.
Among the 29 studies analyzing appointment reminders, 31% (nine studies) were randomized controlled trials, representing the highest quality research design.
On a quality scale ranging from 0 to 14, with higher scores indicating superior study quality, appointment reminder research achieved a median study quality score of 7.
Manual reminders, specifically telephone calls made by healthcare staff, were utilized in 18 of all reminder interventions studied to decrease patient non-attendance at hospital appointments.
Automated reminders, including SMS text messages or automated voice recordings, were employed in 15 of all reminder interventions studied to reduce patient non-attendance at hospital appointments.
The MGMA Stat poll collected 1,475 applicable responses from healthcare leaders regarding automated appointment reminder usage in their organizations.
88% of healthcare leaders' organizations implement automated appointment reminders, while 11% do not use them and 1% were unsure.
Multiple benefits were reported by organizations using automated appointment reminders, including higher revenue, lower no-show rates, better patient compliance, improved appointment utilization, fewer unfilled appointments, increased patient capacity, and additional staff time.
Most surveyed practices confirmed that automated appointment reminders effectively reduce no-shows and free up staff time previously spent on appointment confirmations, enhancing both efficiency and productivity.
Facts and Factors predicts the automated patient appointment reminder software market will reach USD $128.5 million by 2028, growing at a 10.57% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate).
 | Written by Sean Roy Sean has 20 years in technology space with the past 15 years helping companies incorporate mobile into their technology and communication efforts. In addition to his extensive experience in developing and launching mobile marketing solutions, Sean is an active and respected member of the mobile community. Sean has provided mobile solutions for Vodafone, Twitter, Facebook, and Sky TV.  |
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