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Reducing non-attendance at outpatient clinics
C A Stone1, J H Palmer, P J Saxby
1Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
|July 9, 1999
Summary
Reducing outpatient non-attendance by 30% was achieved by identifying high-risk patients and implementing a self-referral clinic. This strategy optimizes healthcare resources and reduces patient waiting times.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Clinical Management
Background:
- Outpatient non-attendance is a significant issue in healthcare, leading to inefficiencies and extended waiting lists.
- Understanding the profile of patients who miss appointments is crucial for service improvement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the clinical and demographic profile of patients who do not attend plastic surgery outpatient appointments.
- To implement and evaluate changes in follow-up guidelines to reduce non-attendance rates.
Main Methods:
- A prospective audit of plastic surgery outpatient clinics was conducted before and after implementing new follow-up strategies.
- Risk factor analysis was used to identify patients likely to miss future appointments.
- A self-referral clinic was introduced for high-risk non-attenders.
Main Results:
- The initial non-attendance rate was 16% of 6095 appointments.
- Following guideline changes and the introduction of a self-referral clinic, the non-attendance rate decreased to 11%.
- This represents a 30% reduction in outpatient non-attendance.
Conclusions:
- Risk factor analysis can effectively identify patients prone to multiple non-attendances.
- Tailored follow-up strategies, including self-referral options, can significantly reduce outpatient non-attendance.
- This model may be applicable to reducing non-attendance in other medical specialties.