Targeted Reminder Phone Calls to Patients at High Risk of No-Show for Primary Care Appointment: A Randomized Trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

No-shows, or missed appointments, are a problem for many medical practices. They result in fragmented care and reduce access for all patients.

Objective

To determine whether telephone reminder calls targeted to patients at high risk of no-show can reduce no-show rates.

Design

Single-center randomized controlled trial.

Participants

A total of 2247 primary care patients in a hospital-based primary care clinic at high risk of no-show (>15 % risk) for their appointment in 7 days.

Intervention

Seven days prior to their appointment, intervention arm patients were placed in a calling queue to receive a reminder phone call from a patient service coordinator. Coordinators were trained to engage patients in concrete planning. All patients received an au

SUBMITTER: Shah SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5130951 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature