Improving Primary Care Follow-up for Patients With Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

Improving Primary Care Follow-up for Adolescents With PID: A Randomized Controlled Trial Using Text Message Reminders

The investigators hypothesize that text message reminders to girls diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in the emergency department (ED) will improve follow-up to their primary care provider (PCP) after being discharged from the ED.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that patients diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) receive follow-up care within 72 hours of diagnosis. However, recent studies show that the majority of teenage girls diagnosed with PID do not receive this follow-up care within 72 hours. We hypothesize that text message reminders to girls diagnosed with PID in the emergency department (ED) will improve follow-up to their primary care provider (PCP) after being discharged from the ED.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Females aged 15 years and older
• New diagnosis of PID, as defined by the 2006 CDC minimum criteria for diagnosis of PID, on current ED encounter
• Determined by attending physician to be appropriate for outpatient treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patient does not have a cell phone that is capable of receiving text messages
• Developmental disability
• Non-English speaking
• Pregnancy
• Patient who was enrolled in this study on a prior ED visit