Moving the Needle on Patient Cancellations Through Mobile Integration

Abstract

c olorectal cancer (cRc) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and ranks in the top three most diagnosed cancers in both men and women (American Gastroenterological Association [AGA], 2022). Early detection and removal of localized adenocarcinoma and adenomatous polyps reduce colon cancer mortality by 53% (AGA, 2022). A quality improvement (QI) project was implemented in August 2020 to reduce the rate of same-day colonoscopy procedure cancellations at a hospital located in Houston, Texas. The goal was to determine whether implementing the Annie mobile application, a short message service (SMS) text messaging application that sends a series of timed detailed text about colonoscopy prep instructions, would increase nothing by mouth (NPO) compliance.Efficiency is essential in managing large volumes of patients requiring colonoscopies, which is considered the gold standard in detecting cancerous polyps. There is always a demand for a system that can show efficiency, ease, affordability, and better return on investment. Incorporating one modest adjustment in mobile integration of care held the potential to save millions of dollars for a facility managing a large number of patients daily. Local ProblemThe need to improve same-day patient cancellation rates was identified at a large high-volume gastroenterology (GI) clinic with the highest same-day cancellation rate in the healthcare system. currently, the project site has a 24% cancellation, 21% above the AGA benchmark recommendation of less than 3% (AGA,