Why your doctor's office is spamming you with appointment reminders

Doctors and dentist offices are increasingly bombarding patients with appointment reminders through various channels such as phone calls, text messages, robocalls, emails, and online patient portals. This trend is driven by the financial pressure to reduce patient no-shows, which result in lost revenue for medical practices. The use of automated messaging systems has exacerbated the situation, overwhelming patients with multiple notifications from different healthcare providers. Patients often ignore these reminders, leading to the concern that critical messages may be missed. Furthermore, patients are uncomfortable with the widespread sharing of their private health information with various doctors and databases. Despite the increased notifications, appointment no-show rates have remained stable. Healthcare providers acknowledge the need for better communication strategies that reduce the overwhelming notification volume and improve patient engagement. Consolidating notification systems and creating synchronized platforms are solutions being explored to address this issue.