Trial reportBMC health services research2013
Text-messaging versus telephone reminders to reduce missed appointments in an academic primary care clinic: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC health services research, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 54 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Improving Adherence in Renal Dialysis Patients; a Randomized Crossover Trial for an Electronic Intervention
Improving Medical Care With Electronic Interventions Based on Automated Text and Phone Messages
Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Behavioural economic interventions to reduce health care appointment non-attendance: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC health services research · 2023Pooled it
- Short message service (SMS) reminders for childhood immunisation in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2021Pooled it
- What is the economic evidence for mHealth? A systematic review of economic evaluations of mHealth solutions.PloS one · 2017Pooled it
- Using digital notifications to improve attendance in clinic: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2016Pooled it
- The Empirical Foundations of Telemedicine Interventions in Primary Care.Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association · 2016Pooled it
- Cost-effectiveness of peer-delivered physical activity promotion and maintenance programs for initially sedentary breast cancer survivors.Translational behavioral medicine · 2023Trial
- Supporting breast cancer survivors via text messages: reach, acceptability, and utility of EMPOWER-SMS.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2022Trial
- A Psycholgical Intervention Delivered by Automated Mobile Phone Messaging Stabilized Hip and Knee Function During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial.The Journal of arthroplasty · 2022Trial
- Effect of Mobile Phone Text Message Reminders on the Completion and Timely Receipt of Routine Childhood Vaccinations: Superiority Randomized Controlled Trial in Northwest Ethiopia.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2021Trial
- Developing targeted client communication messages to pregnant women in Bangladesh: a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2021Trial
- Telephoned, Texted, or Typed Out: A Randomized Trial of Physician-Patient Communication After Emergency Department Discharge.The Journal of emergency medicine · 2018Trial
- A pragmatic trial to improve adherence with scheduled appointments in an inner-city pain clinic by human phone calls in the patient's preferred language.Journal of clinical anesthesia · 2017Trial
- Targeted Reminder Phone Calls to Patients at High Risk of No-Show for Primary Care Appointment: A Randomized Trial.Journal of general internal medicine · 2016Trial
- Stating Appointment Costs in SMS Reminders Reduces Missed Hospital Appointments: Findings from Two Randomised Controlled Trials.PloS one · 2015Trial
- Can nudging increase the uptake of recommended health services?PEC innovation · 2026Article
- Patient and carer perceptions and experiences of technology-facilitated appointment reminders in healthcare: a scoping review.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2026Article
- Factors Affecting the Completion of Sharps Injury Clearance at Belau National Hospital, Palau, 2013 to 2024.Hawai'i journal of health & social welfare · 2026Article
- Diabetes burden and health expenditure in Türkiye and OECD countries: A value-based health care perspective.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2026Article
- Preferences for Personalized Text Message Appointment Reminders Among Outpatients in a Universal Health System: Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Exploring the Causes of Missed Appointments at Ibra Hospital in the Sultanate of Oman: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTelephone or text-message reminders have been shown to significantly reduce the rate of missed appointments in different medical settings. Since text-messaging is less resource-demanding, we tested the hypothesis that text-message reminders would be as effective as telephone reminders in an academic primary care clinic.
methodsA randomized controlled non-inferiority trial was conducted in the academic primary care division of the Geneva University Hospitals between November 2010 and April 2011. Patients registered for an appointment at the clinic, and for whom a cell phone number was available, were randomly selected to receive a text-message or a telephone call reminder 24 hours before the planned appointment. Patients were included each time they had an appointment. The main outcome was the rate of unexplained missed appointments. Appointments were not missed if they were cancelled or re-scheduled before or independently from the intervention. We defined non-inferiority as a difference below 2% in the rate of missed appointments and powered the study accordingly. A satisfaction survey was conducted among a random sample of 900 patients (response rate 41%).
results6450 patients were included, 3285 in the text-message group and 3165 in the telephone group. The rate of missed appointments was similar in the text-message group (11.7%, 95% CI: 10.6-12.8) and in the telephone group (10.2%, 95% CI: 9.2-11.3 p = 0.07). However, only text message reminders were cost-effective. No patient reported any disturbance by any type of reminder in the satisfaction survey. Three quarters of surveyed patients recommended its regular implementation in the clinic.
conclusionsText-message reminders are equivalent to telephone reminders in reducing the proportion of missed appointments in an academic primary care clinic and are more cost-effective. Both types of reminders are well accepted by patients.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.