Media release from Waikato DHB

When Waikato Hospital booking clerks' team leader Tracy Henderson clicked the send button on her new text messaging account at 9.15am today, 217 people around the Waikato had instant text reminders of their clinic appointments at the hospital on Wednesday.

It's the latest initiative to lower did not attend clinic rates which cost Waikato DHB more than $1.6 million annually.

While text reminders are commonplace for things like hair appointments, the logistics of introducing it in Waikato DHB where there are more than 106,000 outpatient attendances every year, meant the project needed good planning and execution.

Waikato DHB utilised New Zealand company Dialhog to introduce the text reminders.

Dialhog has extensive experience in the New Zealand public health sector and already supplies texting services to Counties Manukau, Waitemata, Bay of Plenty, Capital and Coast, Taranaki and Southern DHBs. In addition BreastScreen services in Auckland, Waitemata, Northland, Counties Manukau, Midland, Coast to Coast and Southern also use the email-based technology.

Director Chris Lewis today said when Counties Manukau implemented text reminders, did not attends reduced by 20 per cent.

"We also surveyed patients on their acceptance of the text messaging as a way of communication. The response was overwhelmingly favourable with 99 per cent reporting high satisfaction," he said.

Earlier this year when Waikato DHB ran an information evening for the public to give feedback on their experience of attending outpatient clinics, text message reminders was top of the list.

Jo-Anne Deane, assistant group manager for ambulatory care and external liaison is leading the planning for the September move of most Waikato Hospital clinics into the $130 million Meade Clinical Centre.

"The session looked specifically at customer service within an outpatients' setting so we can understand what is important to our patients when they attend clinic appointments," she said.

Running parallel with the project, booking clerks have changed their processes to proactively update outpatient information. That includes asking them about text messaging options.

"The 217 texts we sent today represented only 36 per cent of the appointments we have at Waikato Hospital on Wednesday," said Ms Henderson.

"So from now on we'll be printing out patient details and asking them to update them while they wait."