Role of communication in successful outpatient attendance in a New Zealand hospital: a qualitative study

There are significant implications for both patients and providers when patients do not attend outpatient specialist appointments. Nonattendance has an impact on the efficiency of health care, provider resources and patient health outcomes.

In this qualitative study we aimed to gather insights on how Dunedin Hospital notifies patients about their appointments, the implications for the hospital and for patients and how the system could be improved.

We interviewed 13 hospital staff members and nine patients who volunteered to participate because they had missed appointments as a result of communication problems. Interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically using NVivo software.

Dunedin Hospital relies heavily on posted letters to inform people about their appointments, with some also receiving reminder texts closer to the time of the appointment. Frustration with the current system was a common theme among both patients and staff. Almost all patients had missed an appointment because of a letter not arriving. While most patients found that the text reminders were helpful, most said they were sent too late and did not allow enough time for arrangements to be made for their appointments. Almost all patients experienced treatment delays, which caused distress. Most patients believed a self-booking system would improve the ability to attend their appointments, and most of them wanted to be notified of appointments via email.

We recommend that a patient-oriented approach to communication should be implemented, and alternative methods of communication should be explored.