Encouraging attendance at outpatient appointments: can we do more?

Scottish Medical Journal
R Henderson

Abstract

Non-attendance at new outpatient appointments is a challenge for health services. Patients with treatable morbidity may fail to receive care from which they would benefit, and scarce resources are wasted. Therefore, a literature review was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of appointment reminders as a means of increasing attendance and reducing 'Did not Attend' rates at new outpatient appointments. Electronic databases were interrogated using a combination of MeSH terms and truncated keywords. In addition, the reference lists of papers were studied to identify additional relevant material. Telephone and postal reminders appear effective, particularly if received within a day of scheduled appointments. Postal reminders offering a reward for attendance, threatening sanctions for non-attendance, and providing information about the clinic appear more effective than standard reminders. No studies assessing the impact of measures including e-mail or text messaging were identified. Many studies were conducted in psychiatric settings outwith the United Kingdom raising issues of generalisability. In addition, no assessment of how initiatives impact on inequalities in service access were found. There is scope to increase attendance...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 25, 2010·Administration and Policy in Mental Health·Kelly Kelleher
Jun 23, 2009·The Angle Orthodontist·Steven J LindauerBhavna Shroff
Oct 18, 2011·Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation·Nicholas F TaylorDeenika Benjamin
Mar 16, 2016·The British Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery·J P WellsV Sivarajasingam
Jul 25, 2013·International Journal of Dermatology·Rita GuedesArmando Baptista
Jan 15, 2015·Journal of General Internal Medicine·Daniel M BlumenthalDaniel C Chung
Oct 26, 2016·The American Journal of the Medical Sciences·Joshua B KnolhoffIan K Komenaka
Sep 22, 2011·Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare·Per E Hasvold, Richard Wootton
Jan 30, 2018·The Angle Orthodontist·Lauren M WegrzyniakPrashanti Bollu
Oct 1, 2020·Australian Health Review : a Publication of the Australian Hospital Association·E P GreenupB Potts

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