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No-Show Rates in Employed Otolaryngology Practice
Brett T Comer1, Lauren E Harris2, Caitlin E Fiorillo1
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Objective:
To report baseline no-show rates in the hospital-employed otolaryngology practice setting and to identify factors that may affect clinic show rates that are targets for potential improvement.
Study Design:
Retrospective chart review.
Methods:
Electronic medical records from October 2012 through July 2014 of a hospital-employed otolaryngology practice were reviewed. Patients were classified by insurance type: commercial, Medicare, Medicaid, and self-pay. Clinic visits were classified as new patient, follow-up, or postoperative. No-show rates were tabulated for each type of clinic visit and compared. Factors to improve no-show rates are discussed.
Results:
There was an overall no-show rate of 8.3% for 5817 scheduled clinic visits. Among visit types, follow-up visits had the highest no-show rates. Among insurance types, Medicaid had the highest no-show rates. New patient Medicaid patients, follow-up Medicaid patients, and follow-up commercial insurance patients had the highest rate of no-shows among visit/insurance type combinations. Persistent reminders are a key factor in improving rate of clinic visit adherence.
Conclusion:
A previously unreported baseline no-show rate was established for hospital-employed otolaryngology clinics. The utilization of repeated, live-person reminders to mitigate the impact of clinic no-show rates needs to be further investigated.
