Abstract
BACKGROUND: Use of specialized devices such as a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for patients with diabetes are most beneficial if patients attend their follow-up appointment. We evaluated the use of a social media reminder system for patient attendance to a CGM follow-up appointment. METHODS: A retrospective analysis compared use of social media appointment reminders to paper-based reminders among 171 patients with diabetes receiving a CGM at a public hospital in suburban New York City. The multivariate logistic regression analysis for the outcome of attendance at an outpatient follow-up visit adjusted for demographic and health variables. RESULTS: The social media reminder group (88.2%, n = 60/68) had a significantly (P < 0.001) greater percentage of attendance at the follow-up appointment than the traditional reminder group (60.2%, n = 62/103). Almost all from the social media reminder group used WhatsApp (98.5%, n = 67). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed increased odds of social media appointment reminders for attendance (odds ratio = 4.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.70, 11.16; P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Social media reminders were associated with increased outpatient appointment attendance for patients with diabetes using CGMs. We recommend wider use of social media platforms, especially WhatsApp, by health care facilities for their reminder systems to improve outpatient appointment attendance among patients with diabetes.