Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA 70121, USA.
J Clin Rheumatol. 2012 Sep;18(6):294-7. doi: 10.1097/RHU.0b013e3182676b6b.
This study aimed to determine the appointment reminder preferences of patients presenting to rheumatology clinics.
An anonymous, self-directed survey was given to all patients attending our rheumatology clinic. Patients indicated age and reminder preferences in modality and timing. Patients were then divided into generational age groups as follows: generation Y (18-28 years), generation X (29-49 years), baby boomers (50-67 years), the silent generation (68-85 years), and the GI generation (≥86 years). Overall preferences, as well as preferences by generational age groups, were determined.
A total of 1000 survey forms were distributed among the patients; 949 were collected for a response rate of 94.9%. Of these 949 survey forms, we analyzed 637 (67.1%) and excluded 312 (32.9%).Of all patients, 99.5% viewed appointment reminders favorably. Most (72%, n = 461) of the patients surveyed indicated that they would prefer the timing of their reminder to be 4 days or less before their clinic appointment; 16% (n = 100) preferred timing between 5 and 7 days; another 12% (n = 77) of the patients indicated that they would prefer 8 days or longer in advance. Overall, the most preferred reminder modality was a telephone call (52%, n = 333). The least preferred modality overall was short message service (SMS)/text messaging (4%, n = 27). The most popular option selected in generation Y was text/SMS reminders, and patients belonging to that generational age group were more likely than any other group to favor text/SMS reminders (P < 0.0001).
Improved rheumatology clinic attendance would be beneficial given the need for disease assessment and medication monitoring. Most patients view appointment reminders favorably; however, no studies have assessed the modality and timing preferences of patients in a US rheumatology clinic. Modality, but not timing, preferences vary with generational age. The preference for newer modalities such as text/SMS reminder was predominately observed in the patients of generation Y, a population prone to clinic nonattendance.
本研究旨在确定就诊于风湿病诊所患者的预约提醒偏好。
对我院风湿病诊所的所有患者进行了匿名、自我导向的调查。患者在模式和时间上表明了年龄和提醒偏好。然后，患者被分为以下几个世代年龄组：Y 世代（18-28 岁）、X 世代（29-49 岁）、婴儿潮一代（50-67 岁）、沉默的一代（68-85 岁）和 GI 一代（≥86 岁）。确定了总体偏好以及各世代年龄组的偏好。
共向患者分发了 1000 份调查问卷，回收了 949 份，回收率为 94.9%。在这 949 份调查问卷中，我们分析了 637 份（67.1%），并排除了 312 份（32.9%）。在所有患者中，99.5%的人对预约提醒持积极态度。大多数（72%，n=461）接受调查的患者表示，他们希望在预约前 4 天或更短的时间内收到提醒；16%（n=100）希望在 5-7 天之间收到提醒；还有 12%（n=77）的患者希望提前 8 天或更长时间收到提醒。总体而言，最受欢迎的提醒方式是电话（52%，n=333）。最不受欢迎的整体方式是短信/短信（4%，n=27）。Y 世代选择的最受欢迎的选项是短信/短信提醒，属于那个世代年龄组的患者比任何其他群体都更倾向于选择短信/短信提醒（P<0.0001）。
鉴于需要进行疾病评估和药物监测，提高风湿病诊所的就诊率将是有益的。大多数患者对预约提醒持积极态度；然而，尚无研究评估美国风湿病诊所患者对模式和时间的偏好。模式，但不是时间，偏好因世代年龄而异。对文本/SMS 提醒等较新模式的偏好主要见于 Y 世代的患者，这一代人容易不参加诊所就诊。
