Using SMS Text Message Reminders as a Way to Decrease Short Notice Cancellations of Surgeries : A Semi-randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract: Health care providers face large costs in terms of operating rooms not being utilized due to patients (1) not canceling enough in advance to allow a different patient to be scheduled or (2) not being in a good enough condition to be operated on due to failure to follow preoperative instructions properly. This degree project aims to see if SMS text reminders can be used to lower the number of surgeries canceled in this manner. Patients of the surgical-, urological- and orthodontic clinics at a hospital in Stockholm were placed into one of three groups; (1) a group that did not receive a text message reminder, (2) a group that received a "short" reminder, (3) and a group that received a "long" reminder. A survey was also conducted to determine what the patients thought of the reminders and whether they believed it influenced them or not. The study suggests that reminders do not work as a method to decrease the short notice cancellation rate as it may not be a poor memory that causes the patient to cancel. Instead, anxiety might have a greater impact than expected. Further studies should be conducted in order to confirm this hypothesis.