Change in Patient Perceptions of Electronic Communication Methods for an Orthopaedic Fracture Clinic Between 2019 and 2024.

Introduction Outpatient appointments are essential to patient care, yet rising non-attendance rates ('did not attend' DNAs) pose significant challenges, costing the National Health Service (NHS) over £1 billion annually. Traditional postal communication is inefficient and costly, while digital methods like short messaging service (SMS) and electronic mail (email) show the potential to improve attendance and reduce costs. This study investigates changes in patient preferences for orthopaedic outpatient communication methods between 2019 and 2024 at a busy district general hospital in London, UK.