Preclinic appointment telephone contact: an effective intervention for colposcopy clinic nonattendance

To assess the impact of preclinic appointment telephone contact with prospective patients on colposcopic clinic default rates.

All women attending the Cornwall Colposcopy Service in Truro, UK, between July and October 2003, were recruited and randomly assigned into two groups. The patients in one group (group A) were contacted by telephone 12 to 24 hours before their clinic appointments to be reminded of their appointments. Confirmation of their attendance was obtained. For patients who indicated their inability to attend, a new date and time was offered. The patients in the other group (group B) were not contacted by telephone.

Ninety-one percent of patients randomized to group A attended their clinic appointment compared with 69% of patients in group B (who had no preclinic appointment telephone contact) (chi1=15.74; p=00073). The odds ratio was 4.68 (95% CI=2.8-10.45), thus implying that patients who were contacted by telephone before their clinic appointment are about five times more likely to attend compared with their counterparts who were not contacted by telephone.

Our study shows that preclinic appointment telephone contact of prospective patients attending colposcopy clinic was an effective intervention to reduce clinic nonattendance.