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Penn Medicine is continually trying to optimize operations and decrease number of patients who do not show up for their appointments. This has included new changes to text message reminders, implemented as usual care. At a baseline, less than 75% of scheduled outpatient appointments are actually completed. This results in longer wait times and decreased access for patients and operational inefficiencies. The goal of the project is to test whether supplementing standard text message appointment reminders with targeted outreach using an automated phone call to patients with increased risk of not showing up for their appointment (>15% per Epic's Risk of Patient No-Show Model) reduces no show rate (the study's primary outcome) and increases patient appointment completion rate (% of appointments that were completed during scheduled appointment time, a secondary outcome). Participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either the standard text message or standard text message plus the automated caller. Eligible patients have already consented to receiving text message reminders from Penn Medicine and must have an in-person appointment scheduled during the study period. The Access Optimization Group at Penn will be monitoring the randomization and outcomes reporting of whether a patient confirmed, cancelled, or no showed at the scheduled appointment. All eligible outpatient appointments over a two week period will be included in this operational evaluation. The Access Optimization Group will then make a decision on which approach to implement as usual care based on the results of this operational evaluation.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text Message (Usual Care) | No Intervention | Standard text message appointment reminders to English and Spanish-speaking patients. Text reminders will go out 3-weeks, 3 days, and 24 hours before the appointment. | |
| Text Message + Automated Caller (Intervention) | Active Comparator | Standard text message appointment reminders to English and Spanish-speaking patients. Text reminders will go out 3-weeks, 3 days, and 24 hours before the appointment. If patient has not confirmed their appointment after the 3-week and 3-day reminders, they'll receive an automated caller. |
|
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text Message + Automated Caller (Intervention) | Behavioral | Standard text message appointment reminders to English and Spanish-speaking patients. Text reminders will go out 3-weeks, 3 days, and 24 hours before the appointment. If patient has not confirmed their appointment after the 3-week and 3-day reminders they will receive an automated caller. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| No Show Rate | Proportion of initially scheduled appointments in which the patient did not show. | Through study completion, on average of 3 weeks |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment Completion Rate | Proportion of initial scheduled appointments completed. | Through study completion, on average of 3 weeks |
| Appointment Cancelation Rate | Proportion of initially scheduled appointments cancelled. |
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Inclusion Criteria:
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| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Medicine | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 19104 | United States |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37126125 | Background | Tarabichi Y, Higginbotham J, Riley N, Kaelber DC, Watts B. Reducing Disparities in No Show Rates Using Predictive Model-Driven Live Appointment Reminders for At-Risk Patients: a Randomized Controlled Quality Improvement Initiative. J Gen Intern Med. 2023 Oct;38(13):2921-2927. doi: 10.1007/s11606-023-08209-0. Epub 2023 May 1. | |
| 42418615 |
| Label | URL |
|---|---|
| Helping Patients Make It to Their Appointments Using Predictive Analytics and Personalized Phone Calls | View source |
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D008722 | Methods |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D008919 | Investigative Techniques |
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| Through study completion, on average of 3 weeks |
| Appointment Refill Rate | Proportion of cancelled appointments that were refilled. | Through study completion, on average of 3 weeks |
| Refilled Appointment Completion Ration | Proportion of refilled appointments that were completed. | Through study completion, on average of 3 weeks |
| Net Appointment Completion Rate | Proportion of appointment slots resulting in a completed appointment. Includes completed refilled appointments. | Through study completion, on average of 3 weeks |
| Kavanaugh L, Thomas S, Lynch S, Leri D, Xiong RA, Xu L, Snider CK, Ebert JP, Harhay MO, Lu Y, Orwig N, Desir N, Encarnacion IN, Mollanazar N, Thomas R, Bae C, Gitelman Y, Hahn L, Lee K, Mehta SJ, Merchant RM, Delgado MK. Automated Calls Added to SMS Reminders Reduce Missed Appointments among High-Risk Patients. NEJM Catal Innov Care Deliv. 2026 Jun;7(6):CAT250322. doi: 10.1056/CAT.25.0322. Epub 2026 May 20. |