Non-attendance in endocrinology and metabolism patients

Non-attendance in outpatient clinics might disrupt medical care, interfere with outpatient clinic processing, and waste health service resources. This study was performed to identify predictive factors for non-attendance in endocrinology and metabolism (Endo/Meta) patients.

Non-attendance was examined for a period of 6 months in Endo/Meta outpatient clinics in a medical center in Taiwan. Effects of physician, clinic, and patient characteristics, and appointment patterns in non-attendance were assessed by ξ(2) test and multivariate logistic regression.

During the study period, a total of 13,584 patients booked appointments for 609 Endo/Meta clinics managed by 11 specialists. The mean number of appointments per patient was 2.3 ± 1.1. The total number of registered visits was 31,143. The total number of non-attendances was 2272. The overall proportion of non-attendance in Endo/Meta patients was 7.3%. The proportion of non-attendance varied with different physician teaching status and on different weekdays. In multivariate logistic regression, physician age (p = 0.0009), physician teaching status (p = 0.0013), number of physician shifts per week (p< 0.0001), patient age (p< 0.0001), first-time appointment (p< 0.0001) and registration order in the clinic (p < 0.0001) had significant effects on non-attendance, whereas physician and patient sex, weekdays and daytimes of clinics had no significant effect on non-attendance.

Determinants of non-attendance in Endo/Meta patients include older physician age, lower physician teaching status, number of physician shifts per week, younger patient age, first-time appointment, and later registration order in the clinic. Research on non-attendance should be applied to improve quality of medical care. Optimal ways to ensure attendance deserve further investigation.