Retaining Homeless Veterans in Outpatient Care: A Pilot Study of Mobile Phone Text Message Appointment Reminders.

• Autores: D. Keith McInnes, Beth Ann Petrakis, Allen L. Gifford, Sowmya R. Rao, Thomas K. Houston, Steven M Asch, Thomas P. O'Toole
• Localización: American journal of public health, ISSN 0090-0036, Vol. 104, Nº. 0, 2014, págs. 588-594
• Idioma: inglés
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• Dialnet Métricas: 1 Cita
• Resumen

  • Objectives. We examined the feasibility of using mobile phone text messaging with homeless veterans to increase their engagement in care and reduce appointment no-shows. Methods. We sent 2 text message reminders to participants (n = 20) before each of their outpatient appointments at an urban Veterans Affairs medical center. Evaluation included pre- and postsurvey questionnaires, open-ended questions, and review of medical records. We estimated costs and savings of large-scale implementation. Results. Participants were satisfied with the text-messaging intervention, had very few technical difficulties, and were interested in continuing. Patientcancelled visits and no-shows trended downward from 53 to 37 and from 31 to 25, respectively. Participants also experienced a statistically significant reduction in emergency department visits, from 15 to 5 (difference of 10; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.2, 17.8; P = .01), and a borderline significant reduction in hospitalizations, from 3 to 0 (difference of 3; 95% CI = –0.4, 6.4; P = .08). Conclusions. Text message reminders are a feasible means of reaching homeless veterans, and users consider it acceptable and useful. Implementation may reduce missed visits and emergency department use, and thus produce substantial cost savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]