Text Messaging Gets Patients to Schedule Overdue Mammography

March 19, 2024 — A retrospective study conducted by Englewood Health demonstrated that text messaging communications can impact patient compliance with screening and potentially improve outcomes. Englewood Health’s findings were included in the American College of Surgeons’ ACS Cancer Conference 2024, as a poster presentation at the national conference, held in Austin, Texas.

Englewood Health implemented its Overdue Screening Mammogram Campaign in 2023, which used two-way text message reminders for women who were overdue for their screening mammography. The objective was to close care gaps and improve health outcomes using a personal outreach approach that specifically targeted patients with a gap in recommended breast cancer screening. The text message campaign emphasized the importance of mammography screening, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which significantly impacted patient compliance with annual screenings. In the campaign, patients received a two-way text message reminding them of the need to schedule their overdue mammogram. The message included a link to allow for self-scheduling of appointments.

Of the more than 7,000 women who received a text message, close to 20 percent of patients scheduled a breast imaging appointment. Breast cancer was detected in 0.5 percent of patients.

The team’s research indicates that digital outreach, including text reminders, can enhance early diagnosis and patient outcomes in conditions such as breast cancer. Englewood Health has expanded the text reminder campaign to other screenings, such as lung cancer and colorectal cancer.