'If You Call Them, They Will Come': A Telephone Call Reminder to Decrease the No-Show Rate in an Outpatient Palliative Medicine Clinic
| Autor: | Chirag Patel, Molly Nowak, Pamela Gamier, Susan B. LeGrand, Armida Parala-Metz, Renato V. Samala, Mary Ellen Mauk, Lisa Rybicki, Cheryl M Carrino, Ruth Lagman, Kyle Neale |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Palliative care
business.industry Reminder Systems Telephone call 010102 general mathematics General Medicine medicine.disease Ambulatory Care Facilities 01 natural sciences Telephone 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Outpatients Health care medicine Humans Patient Compliance Outpatient clinic 030212 general & internal medicine Medical emergency 0101 mathematics Palliative Medicine business Productivity |
| Zdroj: | American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®. 38:448-451 |
| ISSN: | 1938-2715 1049-9091 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/1049909120952322 |
| Popis: | Introduction: A high outpatient clinic no-show rate affects clinical outcomes, increases healthcare costs, and reduces both access to care and provider productivity. In an effort to reduce the no-show rate at a busy palliative medicine outpatient clinic, a quality improvement project was launched consisting of a telephone call made by clinic staff prior to appointments. The study aimed to determine the effect of this intervention on the no-show rate, and assess the financial impact of a decreased no-show rate. Methods and Materials: The outpatient clinic no-show rate was measured from September 1 to December 31, 2015. Data from the first 8 months of the calendar year was removed since these could not be verified. Starting January 1, 2016, patients received a telephone call reminder 24 hours prior to their scheduled outpatient appointment for confirmation. No-show rate was again measured for the calendar year 2016. Opportunity costs were calculated for unfulfilled clinic visits. Results: Of the 1224 completed visits from September 1 to December 31, 2015, 271 were no-shows with an average rate of 11.8%. After the intervention, there were 4368 completed visits and 562 no-shows. The no-show rate for 2016 averaged 6.9% (p < 0.001), down 4.9% from the last 4 months of 2015. Estimated opportunity costs were about 396 no-show visits avoided, equivalent to an annual savings of about $79,200. Conclusion: A telephone call reminder to patients 24 hours prior to their appointment decreased the no-show rate in an outpatient palliative medicine clinic. Avoiding unfulfilled visits resulted in substantial opportunity costs. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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