videos on our website about parental presence at induction of anes-
thesia and preparing for outpatient surgery, topics that could be unset-
tling unknowns to them.
Just as text messaging has become the go-to form of communica-
tion for most of us, it's really enhanced our pre-op communications.
We've been sending automated pre-op texts for about a year now. It
hasn't replaced the nurse's phone call — at least not yet — but we
can't imagine life without our customized texting service.
Type instead of talk
We all know the challenges of reaching patients by phone in the days
before surgery. Reaching the young parents of pediatric patients to
communicate critical info might be even more difficult. Mom and Dad
are seemingly always on the go: working, driving, or at the supermar-
ket or Little League game when a nurse tries to reach them by phone
late in the afternoon — either unable to pick up the phone or to write
down the instructions. And sometimes we can't even leave a message
because their voice mailboxes are full.
It's clearly faster and easier to reach most parents through text.
Studies show that only 1 in 5 people answer calls they aren't expect-
ing, while the average person reads a text within 5 seconds (unless
they're driving, of course!). Talk about instant messaging.
According to industry statistics, the average cell phone owner under
45 years old sends and receives about 85 texts every day. Apparently,
though, very few of those texts come from surgical facilities. According
to last month's online poll by Outpatient Surgery Magazine, only 12% of
242 respondents send patients automated texts. Another 23% said they
hoped to begin texting.
But as patient satisfaction and convenience become increasingly
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