Thanks for the explanation of SMS. Yes, most of my doctors and dentists have a system like that. I thought of it as an automated voicemail. My kids' school uses that too to inform parents of various events and happenings. Some of my doctors' offices still have an actual human make the reminder phone call, though. I don't think the SMS is any better than the human, really, from the patient's point of view. But it probably saves the doctor's office time and money. If it is a human calling and my daughters answer the phone, they will at least talk to the person and get the message and perhaps remember to tell me. If it is an auto message, my daughters hang up immediately before hearing what it's about, so I don't get the message that way. (I tend to hang up on robot calls too.) So, pros and cons.