{"title":"Impact of Empathic Language in Preappointment Communications on Appointment No-Show Rates.","authors":"Adam B Furtado, Arpita Lal, Donal Murray","doi":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000504","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Abstract: </strong>Medical appointment no shows cause a delay in a patient receiving the care that they need and cause a burden for the health care provider organization. The purpose of this project was to explore whether the use of empathic language in preappointment text message communications with a patient would affect appointment attendance rates. This project was conducted within a mental health treatment organization and included 419 patients scheduled for a virtual intake appointment during a 30-day period. The results indicated that adjusting the language used in preappointment text message communication with patients did not generate a statistically significant change in attendance rates. Additional findings point to possible gender differences, although sample size limitations affected the strength of these findings. The days of the scheduled appointments also seemed to affect attendance rates.</p>","PeriodicalId":48801,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Healthcare Quality","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal for Healthcare Quality","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000504","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/12/2 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract: Medical appointment no shows cause a delay in a patient receiving the care that they need and cause a burden for the health care provider organization. The purpose of this project was to explore whether the use of empathic language in preappointment text message communications with a patient would affect appointment attendance rates. This project was conducted within a mental health treatment organization and included 419 patients scheduled for a virtual intake appointment during a 30-day period. The results indicated that adjusting the language used in preappointment text message communication with patients did not generate a statistically significant change in attendance rates. Additional findings point to possible gender differences, although sample size limitations affected the strength of these findings. The days of the scheduled appointments also seemed to affect attendance rates.
期刊介绍:
The Journal for Healthcare Quality (JHQ), a peer-reviewed journal, is an official publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality. JHQ is a professional forum that continuously advances healthcare quality practice in diverse and changing environments, and is the first choice for creative and scientific solutions in the pursuit of healthcare quality. It has been selected for coverage in Thomson Reuter’s Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index®, and Current Contents®.
The Journal publishes scholarly articles that are targeted to leaders of all healthcare settings, leveraging applied research and producing practical, timely and impactful evidence in healthcare system transformation. The journal covers topics such as:
Quality Improvement • Patient Safety • Performance Measurement • Best Practices in Clinical and Operational Processes • Innovation • Leadership • Information Technology • Spreading Improvement • Sustaining Improvement • Cost Reduction • Payment Reform