TY  - JOUR
AU  - Lee, Jongchan
AU  - Ahn, Soyeon
AU  - Ohn, Jung Hun
AU  - Kim, Eun Sun
AU  - Lim, Yejee
AU  - Kim, Hye Won
AU  - Park, Hee-Sun
AU  - Cho, Jae Ho
AU  - Kim, Sun-wook
AU  - Ryu, Jiwon
AU  - Kim, Jihye
AU  - Jang, Hak Chul
AU  - Kim, Nak-Hyun
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/3/12
TI  - Effect of SMS Ward Round Notifications on Inpatient Experience in Acute Medical Settings: Retrospective Cohort Study
JO  - JMIR Hum Factors
SP  - e57470
VL  - 12
KW  - rounds
KW  - round-time notification
KW  - text messaging
KW  - patient experience assessment
KW  - patient experiences
KW  - patient-centeredness
KW  - patient participation
AB  - Background: Ward rounds are an essential component of inpatient care. Patient participation in rounds is increasingly encouraged, despite the occasional complicated circumstances, especially in acute care settings. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of real-time ward round notifications using SMS text messaging on the satisfaction of inpatients in an acute medical ward. Methods: Since January 2021, a service implementing real-time ward round notifications via text messaging (WR-SMS) has been operational at a tertiary-care medical center in Korea. To assess its impact, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients admitted to the acute medical unit who participated in a patient experience survey. Patient satisfaction was compared between patients admitted in 2020 (pre–WR-SMS group) and 2021 (post–WR-SMS group). Results: From January 2020 to December 2021, a total of 100 patients were enrolled (53 patients in the pre–WR-SMS group and 47 patients in the post–WR-SMS group). Compared with the pre–WR-SMS group, the post–WR-SMS group showed significantly greater satisfaction about being informed about round schedules (mean 3.43, SD 0.910 vs mean 3.89, SD 0.375; P<.001) and felt more emotionally supported during admission (mean 3.49, SD 0.800 vs mean 3.87, SD 0.397; P<.001). Regarding other questionnaire scores, the post–WR-SMS group showed an overall, although statistically insignificant, improvement compared with the pre–WR-SMS group. Conclusions: Real-time round notifications using a user-friendly SMS may improve inpatient satisfaction effectively. 
SN  - 2292-9495
UR  - https://humanfactors.jmir.org/2025/1/e57470
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/57470
DO  - 10.2196/57470
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/57470
ER  -