Failures to keep primary care appointments in Saudi Arabia

A prospective study of sociodemographic characteristics and morbidity of 3,292 patients given appointments at the primary care clinics of King Khalid and King Abdulaziz University Hospitals was conducted in 1990. The appointments were made from one to four weeks before the scheduled visit. After the first visit the patients were then followed up for 4 months to record their characteristics and reasons for failing to keep the appointments. The study showed an appointment failure rate of 29.5%. Telephone calls were made to 15.4% of the nonattenders to ask about their reasons for nonattending. Patients over 65 years old and those in the more highly educated group had the highest rates of default. Failures to keep appointments increased for afternoon sessions and toward the end of the week. The 128 nonattenders variously cited transport difficulties (particularly among women), unclear appointment details, and forgetfulness as main reasons for defaulting.