The Reasons Behind Patient No-Shows in Primary Care

Abstract

Background: Clinics of every type, size and practice face the widespread problem of “no-shows” and “no-shows” have a negative impact on patient health outcomes and the workflow of clinics. Lowering missed appointment rates and providing continuous quality care over time in the primary care setting can improve clinical efficiency and utilization, enhance continuity of healthcare management, and lead to better health outcomes for patients. Objective: This project aimed to identify and analyze the characteristics that most accurately described patients who chose not to attend their appointments, as well as to explore the most effective interventions to improve attendance to primary care appointments. Methods: Forty patients scheduled during a two-day period at Abundant Health Family Practice were the target participants for the project. The data were collected using questionnaires with the participants. Results: The average age of the participants was 51.73 years, with a standard deviation (SD) of 17.68. Twenty percent reported they had missed a clinic appointment in the past 6 months. Younger age, ethnicity, and health insurance type were observed to be associated with patients’ no-shows. The two most common reasons for missed appointments were forgetting the time/date and difficulty leaving work. Over 80% of participants between the ages of 18-54 responded that text messages were the most preferred appointment reminder, while 90% of participants 65 and older preferred personal/automated phone call appointment reminders. Among respondents aged 55-64, 67% choose text message as their preference. Conclusion: Elderly patients liked to be reminded about upcoming appointments via personal phone calls, while a text message reminder was the most preferred method for the younger generation to efficiently communicate with healthcare staffs. Individualized implementation of the appointment reminders in a primary care setting is a positive influence for patients’ attitudes about improving their appointment attendance.