Initiating Telehealth Visits Through Text Messaging Benefits Patients

To reduce the amount of time spent in a virtual waiting room, researchers from the University of California San Diego conducted a pilot that used text messaging to provide patients with a meeting link when their provider was ready to see them, finding it to be a successful alternative.

The study consisted of 22 patients who had scheduled a virtual visit at a stroke clinic over two-and-a-half months. Each patient had the option of receiving a text message containing their meeting link or waiting in the virtual room.

Of the 22 patients, 76 percent used the text messaging system, and 24 percent used the standard waiting room approach. Researchers found that no patients were seen late and that 55 percent were seen early, with the clinic saving 55 minutes as a result.

“Overall, the text method makes life so much easier for patients. As long as a patient has a smartphone handy, they can go about their day rather than waiting for the provider to join the video visit,” said Brett C. Meyer, MD, neurologist, co-director of the UC San Diego Heath Stroke Center, and clinical director of telehealth at UC San Diego Health, in a press release. “For the provider, it definitely increases flexibility and may even increase throughput. Additionally, texting decreases the anxiety of a provider who may be running late. Knowing that we are not keeping a patient waiting is, in my mind, the most important thing.”

The rapid uptake of telehealth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in providers working on fine-tuning their virtual care processes to improve the patient experience. In the last couple of years, UC San Diego experienced a 1000-fold increase in telehealth visits, representing over 550,000 ambulatory telehealth visits.

Various institutions and healthcare stakeholders have supported a text messaging approach for communication between providers and patients.

In April 2021, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that allowed providers to have more freedom when using text messaging. Specifically, it gave them more flexibility when using it to communicate upcoming appointment details and information about prescriptions. It also allowed for text messaging at no extra charge to the patients.

However, the court prohibited providers from sending more than three messages weekly and using the platform for advertising and billing.

In May, AHIP shared its support regarding a proposal sent by the US Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to the Federal Communications Commission that urged the latter to allow agencies to use text messaging for enhancing communication during health plan enrollment procedures. AHIP said that text messaging would benefit Medicaid enrollment, making for an easier and faster process.