Improving surgical outpatient efficiency through mobile phone text messaging.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Currently, 175,000 people are on outpatient waiting lists in Irish hospitals. Many clinic slots are taken by patients returning for routine review postoperatively. METHODS: A Nokia mobile phone was used to send an outpatient text (OPT) to patients 2 weeks postdischarge. Patients replying that they were well were discharged. If no reply after 2 attempts was received, they were scheduled for the next outpatient clinic. RESULTS: Overall, 55 patients were offered the service over a 4-month period. Of these, 74.5% of patients were discharged from follow-up using text message surveillance. Patients were surveyed regarding their perception of the surveillance model, with all respondents ranking OPT surveillance as their preferred method of follow-up. There was a 13.6% decrease in outpatient visits over the study period. In addition, 6 emergency department visits were also avoided. CONCLUSION: Text message surveillance decreases outpatient waiting times and increases quality of care.