129 - Factors Affecting Appointment Attendance in a Physiatry Clinic

Objectives: Patient no-show rates pose significant challenges to healthcare, leading to underutilization of resources and disruptions in care continuity. Previous studies within other specialties have described an average no-show rate between 12-18%. This study aimed to address factors associated with no-show rates at an outpatient physical medicine and rehabilitation practice.

Design: This study encompassed a single-center survey targeting both adult patients and parents of pediatric patients who visited the outpatient clinic between June- August 2023. The study cohort comprised a total of 58 patients. Following their appointments, patients were provided with a survey drawing from previously published studies examining patient attendance. Utilizing descriptive statistics, the survey responses were analyzed to provide an understanding of the patient population's characteristics. Moreover, chi-square analysis was employed to compare and discern the outcomes.

Results: Results show that patients over the age of 60 were more likely to demonstrate a higher propensity for prior appointment non-adherence (p< .05) in comparison to a younger cohort. Regardless of age, findings indicate that patients would prefer reminder cards after appointments. While 81% of respondents agreed they would cancel an appointment in the event they needed to cancel, results that show 39% of respondents had missed an appointment in the past. Additionally, Likert responses show that most patients prefer an online option for appointment sign-ups.

Conclusions: This study highlights the link between age and appointment attendance, emphasizing the relevance of reminder strategies. While reminder strategies utilizing phone calls have been implemented within many hospital systems, results show that further strategies are necessary to mitigate no-show rates. Results show that patients greater than the age of 60 have higher rates of missed appointments and may be a population for more targeted strategies to reduce no-show rates. A follow-up phase would involve implementing phone call reminders for same-day absentees.