Great communication in healthcare can save lives

One carefully worded text message encouraging people to donate organs added an extra 100,000 donors to the list, all thanks to behavioural insights

We are only just beginning to learn about the power of words in health. Not the great works of literature, whose influence goes without saying, but the power of the ordinary messages that patients and the public see every day. It turns out it matters exactly how they are framed and what they say. If we get it right, we can improve treatment, reduce errors, cut costs and even save lives.

Take the text message that is routinely sent by NHS hospitals to outpatients reminding them of their upcoming appointment. A small tweak to the wording - to include the 160 cost of the appointment - reduced the non-attenders by almost 25% in a trial at Barts NHS trust in London. If repeated across the NHS, that could save at least 1m a week , and would mean more patients get the required treatment when they need it.