Effect of a mailed appointment reminder on appointment keeping

Poor appointment keeping is a major problem in many health facilities. At The Anthony L. Jordan Health Center, we studied 670 pediatric appointments to see if a postal card reminder mailed one week before the appointment would make a difference in the keep rate (kept plus canceled appointments, divi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatrics (Evanston) 1974-03, Vol.53 (3), p.349-352
Main Authors: Nazarian, L F, Mechaber, J, Charney, E, Coulter, M P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
Appointments and Schedules
Child
Child Health Services - utilization
Humans
New York
Patient Dropouts
Referral and Consultation
Time Factors
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Summary:Poor appointment keeping is a major problem in many health facilities. At The Anthony L. Jordan Health Center, we studied 670 pediatric appointments to see if a postal card reminder mailed one week before the appointment would make a difference in the keep rate (kept plus canceled appointments, divided by kept plus canceled plus broken appointments). The appointments studied were 12 days to eight weeks from the time of scheduling. In the control group, the keep rate was 48%. Those receiving mailed reminders had a keep rate of 64%, a significant difference (X2 = 16.92; p < 0.001). The effects on the keep rate of age, interval to appointment, time of day, referral pattern, reason for appointment, and prior keep rate were minor. The use of a mailed reminder can improve appointment keeping and facilitate better care and more efficient scheduling and use of personnel.
ISSN:0031-4005
1098-4275
DOI:10.1542/peds.53.3.349