Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Health Services and Carrick (formerly TxtSquad), a patient communication company and platform based in Newfoundland and Labrador, have worked together over the last year to reduce the number of missed appointments for the breast screening program. This partnership is helping NL Health Services deliver a more responsive, efficient, and patient-centred health system for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador by making it easier for patients to manage their care.

Since November 2025, approximately 30,000 patients have been receiving automated text reminders, resulting in a 67 per cent reduction in missed patient appointments, freeing up time to increase capacity for breast screening by 10 per cent.

“Improving access to health care means making every step of the patient journey as simple, seamless, and empowering as possible,” said Ronald Johnson, CEO (interim), NL Health Services. “Innovative communication solutions can make a meaningful difference for both patients and care teams, increasing patient autonomy by giving individuals more control over how and when they connect with services. The result is fewer missed appointments, improved access to screening, and better use of available resources.”

“One of our government’s key commitments is to focus innovation on technology developed right here at home, to support our health care workers and improve access to services,” said the Honourable Joedy Wall, Minister of Health and Community Services. “This partnership between Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services and Carrick is a great example of how homegrown innovations can help bridge gaps in health care and support better health care for all of us.”

With the introduction of the Carrick platform, patients can confirm, cancel, reschedule, or ask questions by text or phone, which allows staff to manage responses from one inbox. In addition, patients are also able to leave voicemails that are transcribed and summarized for staff in that same inbox, so that patients can be triaged more quickly.

“The breast screening results show what can happen when we make it easier for patients to connect with the health system,” said Josh Taylor, founder and CEO of Carrick. “We are incredibly proud of our partnership with NL Health Services and the teams who have embraced new ways of reaching patients. Together, we are showing that better patient engagement is not just about communication—it can improve access, reduce barriers and help health-care programs make better use of the capacity they already have. That is the kind of impact we built Carrick to deliver.”

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which often increases the number of patients reaching out for screening. Since the Carrick technology has been in place, the process to successfully book, confirm, and attend mammogram appointments has resulted in an improved experience for both patients and staff with the breast screening program.

“The text messaging platform has great benefits for patients and staff, creating a process that is easy to follow and allows for a more streamlined booking system,” said Greg Doyle, provincial manager of the provincial breast screening program, NL Health Services. “Bringing texting, phone calls and voicemail together gave the program a multi-modal communication channel that changed how patients reached us and how staff manage conversations. That all-in-one approach has been key to the success the breast screening program has had since Carrick was implemented.”

The main benefit of breast screening is the early detection of breast cancer, which may improve outcomes for people diagnosed with cancer. People between 40 and 74 years of age can self-refer (a doctor’s referral is not required) and book an appointment at an NL Health Services location.

Carrick is also used to book appointments for other services at NL Health Services including family care teams throughout the province as well as the Community Walk-in Clinic and the Newcomer Health Clinic, both located in Mount Pearl, participant recruitment for research studies and other services and clinics.

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