An interventional study of Text Message + Automated Caller (Intervention) in Appointment Reminders, sponsored by M. Kit Delgado, MD. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-04-04.
Sponsored by M. Kit Delgado, MD · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other
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.
This is the only study on the registry with M. Kit Delgado, MD as lead sponsor.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Inclusion Criteria:
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.
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.
Behavioral: Text Message + Automated Caller (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. If patient has not confirmed their appointment after the 3-week and 3-day reminders they will receive an automated caller.
No Show Rate
Proportion of initially scheduled appointments in which the patient did not show.
Time frame: Through study completion, on average of 3 weeks
Appointment Completion Rate
Proportion of initial scheduled appointments completed.
Time frame: Through study completion, on average of 3 weeks
Appointment Cancelation Rate
Proportion of initially scheduled appointments cancelled.
Time frame: Through study completion, on average of 3 weeks
Appointment Refill Rate
Proportion of cancelled appointments that were refilled.
Time frame: Through study completion, on average of 3 weeks
Refilled Appointment Completion Ration
Proportion of refilled appointments that were completed.
Time frame: 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.
Time frame: Through study completion, on average of 3 weeks
This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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