Telephone reminders reduced non-attendance rates in a paediatric outpatient department

Missed hospital appointments increase health costs, make the healthcare systems less effective and can delay diagnoses and treatments. Studies have shown that providing reminders by letter, texts or telephone calls decreased non-attendance rates. The paediatric outpatient clinic at Kolding Hospital, Denmark, experienced an increasing number of late cancellations and no-shows, despite sending automated texts 48 hours before appointments. We decided to call parents two weeks before their child's appointment to encourage them to cancel if they were unable to attend or no longer needed the consultation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.