Angle Orthod. 2018 May;88(3):314-318. doi: 10.2319/090517-597.1. Epub 2018 Jan 29.
To evaluate the effectiveness of patient-chosen appointment reminder methods (phone call, e-mail, or SMS text) in reducing no-show rates.
This was a retrospective case study that determined the correlation between patient-chosen appointment reminder methods and no-show rates in a private orthodontic practice. This study was conducted in a single office location of a multioffice private orthodontic practice using data gathered in 2015. The subjects were patients who self-selected the appointment reminder method (phone call, e-mail, or SMS text). Patient appointment data were collected over a 6-month period. Patient attendance was analyzed with descriptive statistics to determine any significant differences among patient-chosen reminder methods.
There was a total of 1193 appointments with an average no-show rate of 2.43% across the three reminder methods. No statistically significant differences ( P = .569) were observed in the no-show rates between the three methods: phone call (3.49%), e-mail (2.68%), and SMS text (1.90%).
The electronic appointment reminder methods (SMS text and e-mail) had lower no-show rates compared with the phone call method, with SMS text having the lowest no-show rate of 1.90%. However, since no significant differences were observed between the three patient-chosen reminder methods, providers may want to allow patients to choose their reminder method to decrease no-shows.
评估患者选择的预约提醒方法（电话、电子邮件或短信）在降低失约率方面的效果。
这是一项回顾性病例研究，旨在确定私人正畸诊所中患者选择的预约提醒方法与失约率之间的相关性。该研究在一家多诊室私人正畸诊所的一个办公室地点进行，使用 2015 年收集的数据。研究对象为自行选择预约提醒方法（电话、电子邮件或短信）的患者。患者预约数据在 6 个月期间收集。通过描述性统计分析患者的出勤率，以确定患者选择的提醒方法之间是否存在任何显著差异。
三种提醒方法的总预约次数为 1193 次，平均失约率为 2.43%。三种方法（电话、电子邮件和短信）的失约率之间无统计学显著差异（P =.569）：电话（3.49%）、电子邮件（2.68%）和短信（1.90%）。
与电话方法相比，电子预约提醒方法（短信和电子邮件）的失约率较低，短信的失约率最低，为 1.90%。然而，由于三种患者选择的提醒方法之间未观察到显著差异，因此提供者可能希望允许患者选择其提醒方法以减少失约。
