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Use of an orientation clinic to reduce failed new patient appointments in primary care

  • Innovations In Education And Clinical Practice
  • Published:
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Abstract

Patients who fail to attend initial appointments reduce clinic efficiency. To maximize attendance by newly referred outpatients, we introduced a mandatory group orientation clinic for all new patients and determined its effects on no-show rates. Orientation clinic also provided health care screening and opportunities for patient feedback. The new patient noshow rate for initial provider visits decreased significantly from 45% before institution of orientation clinic to 18% aftewards (P<.0001). The total no-show (patients who failed to attend orientation clinic or an initial provider visit) rate of the postintervention group was 51% (P=.28, compared with before the intervention). This intervention improved the efficiency and minimized the wasted time of our clinicians.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the General Internal Medicine Section, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif

    Sharad Jain MD & Calvin L. Chou MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Sharad Jain MD
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  2. Calvin L. Chou MD, PhD
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Jain, S., Chou, C.L. Use of an orientation clinic to reduce failed new patient appointments in primary care. J GEN INTERN MED 15, 878–880 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2000.00201.x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2000.00201.x

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