Crafting a good doctors appointment text reminder

No-shows can be immensely costly for your healthcare practice, and can result in weekly financial casualties of around $1000. Considering that this can contribute towards investment in equipment, technology, and other resources to improve your practice, it is essential that you minimize these losses by providing appointment reminder software. Forgetfulness is one of the leading causes of missed appointments, and in the UK, over 40% of patients stated they missed an appointment simply because they did not remember. This is where text messages come in. Appointment reminder texts are a great way to reach out to patients, and inform them of upcoming appointments, and because of their accessible format, almost everyone can take advantage of these services. Over 90% of people read text messages within the first 3 minutes, meaning that you can have full confidence that patients are more likely to follow up on reminders and remember their bookings. Because messaging services are often automated, this means minimal effort is required on your end, which is ideal for spending time on other important business processes. It would be a great disservice to not invest in text messaging services, as employing their technology would greatly strengthen your patient relationships, and elevate your quality of care.

It may come as a surprise that appointment text reminders are not as straightforward as they seem, and that there are some nuances to their structure. When crafting and sending messages to patients through appointment scheduling software, there are multiple factors that you need to consider before diving into the service. We have collated 5 practices that you should consider before introducing text reminders.

• Do not spam - Sending multiple messages can come across as annoying for many patients, and often feels overwhelming. If a patient receives multiple messages in the days leading up to their appointment, they may suffer from increased stress levels, which results in lower patient satisfaction with your services. It is good practice to send reminders over a period of time, purposefully placing them so patients remember their appointments.
• Be clear - It is important that you relay the essential information and you need to be clear and concise. You should not include private information, but you should note the specifics concerning the appointment, as well as who is sending the information, and the steps on canceling. Patients have busy schedules, and they should be able to skim over the message and be able to extract the important details in minimal time. 
• Be personal - It’s always good practice to use a patient’s name when sending appointment reminders, as after all, no one wants to feel like a number. Doing so will increase patient engagement and satisfaction, and ensure that you are also sending the right information to the right person.
• Use response requests - You should include an option for patients to respond with confirmation on whether they are coming to their appointment, as well as including a cancelation option. This way, you can also reduce no-shows, and help patients to easily reschedule if needed. 
• Be timely - Make sure that your reminders are sent at an appropriate time, as messages sent too early or late won’t make a significant difference to the patient remembering their appointment. ‍
• Have the right information - Although reasonably self-explanatory, you’d be surprised at how many businesses get this step wrong. It is vital that you review texts to ensure that they are accurate, with the details corresponding to contact information on your databases.

When composing a medical appointment text, it is important that you include the following information:

• Name of patient
• Name of who the text is from
• Location
• Opt-outs
• Link for canceling or rescheduling
  

This way the patient can quickly retrieve essential details before their appointment, which also makes business processes smoother on your end. To guide you, we have provided some examples of medical appointment texts that you can amend according to your business needs. These formats are relatively standard for the healthcare industry, and can be customized to what suits you.

Hi John, this is your friendly reminder that you have an appointment with Carepatron Medical on 07-11-22 at 12:10 PM with our center. If you need to reschedule, please follow the link <insert link> or reply STOP to opt-out. We look forward to hearing from you!

Hi Lucy, this is Jessica from Carepatron Medical Center. This is confirmation that you have an appointment with us for June 4th at 2:30 PM. We look forward to hearing from you. If this is not correct, please reply STOP to opt-out, or contact us at https://carepatron.com.

Assuming you choose to carry out text messaging administrations into your facility, it is vital that they are HIPAA consistent, and hold fast to security convention laws and rules. Like anything on the web, you should take additional consideration to guarantee that data is defended against potential network assaults, especially considering the sensitive data within the appointment scheduling software. This means incorporating encryption within every cell phone server, and getting assent from patients concerning who approaches their data. HIPAA violations can get expensive very quickly, and so you should do everything within your power to avoid potential security breaches. You should have strategies in place for cases where business mobile phones are taken or lost, as well as having the right authorization access avenues in place so only those who need access can review particular information. HIPAA compliance is fundamental to guaranteeing an undeniable degree of command over understanding information, and ensures that you have secure servers to store data locally within a virtual private organization. Your patients will come to appreciate and cherish the degree of care you execute inside your administrations, so we suggest you always consider HIPAA compliance standards above all else. 

Take home message

Text messages are immensely advantageous, and are an incredible method for connecting with others. Due to their simple programming, text messaging is an extraordinary road for medical care practices to fuse into their appointment reminder administrations and help build patient commitment. With services such as Carepatron, you can use free optimized appointment booking schedules that support and provide free appointment reminders to reduce no-shows, and any additional costs for your business. Carepatron is also HIPAA compliant, meaning that using their services can effectively lift the nature of your healthcare practice by improving patient correspondence, as well as clinical results. To decrease no-shows, and reinforce patient connections, consider consolidating instant messages into your healthcare services today!

Further reading:

• A Megastudy of Text-Based Nudges Encouraging Patients to Get Vaccinated at an Upcoming Doctor’s Appointment
• Using text message reminders in health care services: A narrative literature review