Measuring the effectiveness of patient-chosen reminder methods in a private orthodontic practice

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of patient-chosen appointment reminder methods (phone call, e-mail, or SMS text) in reducing no-show rates. Materials and Methods: 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. Results: 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%). Conclusions: 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.