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Clinical Interest and Economic Impact of Preoperative SMS Reminders before Ambulatory Surgery: A Propensity Score Analysis

Journal of Medical Systems volume 42, Article number: 150 (2018) Cite this article

Abstract

Patient contact by telephone the day before ambulatory surgery is considered as a best practice. The Short Message Service (SMS) could be a suitable alternative. The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate the interest of preoperative instruction (PI) reminders by SMS compared to telephone calls. This was a prospective single center before-and-after study. Patients scheduled in ambulatory surgery were included during 2 consecutive periods of 10 weeks. The “Call” group received a telephone call for preoperative instructions (PI) and the “SMS” group received an automated protocol SMS reminder. The primary endpoint was patient compliance with PI and time of convocation. The two populations were compared with a non-inferiority hypothesis and the impact of the contact modality on compliance with the PI was assessed using a propensity score. The analysis concerned 301 patients in the Call group and 298 in the SMS group. The absence of dysfunction was observed in 75% of patients in the SMS group compared with 61% in the Call group (Risk difference: 14% [95%CI: 7–21]). The use of SMS was associated with a significant improvement in compliance with the PI (Odds ratio: 1.90 [1.48–2.42]; p < 0.0001). Patient satisfaction was similar regardless of the method of PI reminders. The automation of preoperative SMS reminders is associated with a better respect of the PI compared to the conventional calling method. This PI reminder method satisfies the majority of patients and may have a favorable financial impact.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine and the Ambulatory Surgery Unit, St-Antoine University Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ, Paris 6, France

    Fanny Garnier & Florence Marchand-Maillet

  2. Ambulatory Surgical Unit and Department of Anesthesiology, Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, 42 Boulevard Jourdan, 75014, Paris, France

    Didier Sciard & Marc Beaussier

  3. Department of Anesthesiology and Ambulatory Care Center, Princess Grace Hospital, Pasteur Avenue, Monaco Principality, Monaco

    Alexandre Theissen

  4. Unit of Clinical Epidemiology, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, CHU Robert Debré, University Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris-Cité, CIC-EC 1426 and, UMR-S 1123 ECEVE, 75019, Paris, France

    Damir Mohamed & Corinne Alberti

Authors
  1. Fanny Garnier
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  2. Didier Sciard
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  3. Florence Marchand-Maillet
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  4. Alexandre Theissen
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  5. Damir Mohamed
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  6. Corinne Alberti
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  7. Marc Beaussier
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marc Beaussier.

Ethics declarations

This study does not received any grants. SMS system was purchased by the institution. The study was carried out totally independently from the manufacturer.

This study received an approval from the Ethical Committee for the Protection of Persons Ile de France III (CPP reference: S.C. 3184, file number: 2014-A01337–40). A patient information letter was provided before consent was obtained. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Data collection was in accordance with the recommendations and regulations of the French National Commission for Data Processing and Liberties (CNIL).

Conflict of Interest

The authors don’t have any conflict of interest in relation with the topic.

Additional information

This work was presented as an abstract at the French National Society of Anesthesiology meeting in Sept 2013 (Paris).

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Mobile & Wireless Health

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Garnier, F., Sciard, D., Marchand-Maillet, F. et al. Clinical Interest and Economic Impact of Preoperative SMS Reminders before Ambulatory Surgery: A Propensity Score Analysis. J Med Syst 42, 150 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-018-1000-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-018-1000-z

Keywords

  • Short message service (SMS)
  • Ambulatory surgery
  • Organizational
  • Health economic