I see that a Madrid Hospital, Tajo Hospital, have just started implementing an SMS reminder system for medical appointments starting this month. The hospital recorded that there were 10,383 patients that missed scheduled medical consultations in 2010. The hope is that the new SMS reminder system will significantly cut down on these missed appointments.
“This will help patients remember their planned appointments with specialists as well as the arrangement of new appointments; patients that are unable to attend a doctor’s appointment on a given date and time can call the appropriate service and cancel, thus allowing the hospital to fill cancelled time slots and provide an enhanced service as a result.” (http://epractice.eu/en/news/5316738)
DiaryBook goes a step further with its web service allowing the patient/client to reply by text, which automatically updates a practices’ appointment’s diary, cutting out the need for the client to make the more expensive phone call.
