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. Patient-cancelled 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.
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机译：目标。我们研究了与无家可归的退伍军人一起使用手机短信以增加他们的护理参与度并减少约会未出现的可行性。在参加市区退伍军人事务医疗中心的每次门诊之前，我们向参与者（n = 20）发送了2条短信提醒。评估包括调查前和调查后的问卷，不限成员名额的问题以及病历的审查。我们估算了大规模实施的成本和节省的成本。与会者对短信干预感到满意，技术上的困难很小，并且对继续进行感兴趣。取消患者的就诊和未就诊分别从53下降到37和31下降到25。参加者还经历了急诊就诊的统计显着减少，从15减少到5（差异为10； 95％置信区间[CI] = 2.2，17.8; P = .01），住院的临界点显着减少，从3减少到5。 0（差异为3; 95％CI = -0.4，6.4; P = .08）。短信提醒是联系无家可归的退伍军人的一种可行方法，用户认为这是可以接受和有用的。实施可以减少误诊和急诊部门的使用，从而节省大量成本。
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