Telephone Reminder to Increase Appointment Rates

Reducing the Rate of Missed Appointments in an Outpatient Substance Use Treatment Clinic in Norway

Missed appointments to outpatient substance use treatment are common and costly and can have a negative effect on the health of patients.

In this quasi-experimental study, the investigators used an on-off design to examine whether a reminder "plus" intervention (telephone call from therapist before first appointment) would increase attendance and improve cancellation and rebooking practices. Secondary outcomes included satisfaction with treatment and intention to complete the treatment program.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Substance-Related Disorders; Reminder Systems
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Reminder plus (telephone call from therapist)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 147
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Norway
  • Agder
    • Arendal, Agder, Norway
      • Addiction Unit - Sørlandet Hospital
    • Kristiansand, Agder, Norway, 4600
      • Addiction Unit - Sørlandet Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Newly referred patient
• > 18 years
• Diagnosis: Substance related disorder

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients who are unable to understand or score the survey due to cognitive or language barriers

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: OFF intervention; No reminder plus (telephone reminder from therapist) but standard test message reminder (SMS) from second admission
Experimental: ON intervention; Reminder plus (telephone reminder from therapist) AND standard test message reminder (SMS) from second admission	Other: Reminder plus (telephone call from therapist); Reminder plus (telephone call from therapist)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Attendance rate	Attendance rate at first admission and during 10 outpatient sessions	Up to 10 treatment sessions, estimated average timeframe = 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Dropout rate	Dropout rate within 10 sessions - measured as formal discharge and/or "technical discharge" (3x no-shows)	Up to 10 treatment sessions, estimated average timeframe = 3 months
Cancellation / rebooking rate	Examine difference in cancellation / rebooking rate between the two conditions. Data was collected from administrative patient records.	Up to 10 treatment sessions, estimated average timeframe = 3 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Treatment satisfaction	Treatment satisfaction - measured with the Session Rating Scale (scale 0 - 40, higher scores means higher satisfaction)	First week
Intention to complete treatment	Intention to complete treatment program. Self-developed measured based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. Scale 1 - 7, higher scores means higher intention to Complete treatment).	First week

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Sorlandet Hospital HF
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: John-Kåre Vederhus, PhD, Sørlandet Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Gallefoss LJ, Gabrielsen KB, Haugland SH, Clausen T, Vederhus JK. Effects of a brief pre-admission telephone reminder on no-show and dropout rates in substance use disorder treatment: a quasi-experimental study. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2022 Aug 23;17(1):61. doi: 10.1186/s13011-022-00489-9.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 31, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): December 31, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 7, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 12, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): January 13, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 27, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 24, 2023
• Last Verified: January 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: 005004 - 2014/2225

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No