Document Detail


A telephone survey on the reasons for non-attendance in a dermatological clinic.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19169207     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
AIM: Long waiting time before obtain medical attention is a significant problem that affects all specialties and especially dermatology, where a quick observation is required because of the rapid mutation of skin lesions pattern. Non-attendance (NA) is one of the aspects that is most involved in the length of waiting lists. The aim of this study was to investigate the different reasons for NA in the dermatological clinic as to improve the booking system and allow patients to be visited in a shorter time.
METHODS: All the patients who failed to attend a visit, booked in the dermatological service during a two months period, were contacted by telephone to determine the reasons for having missed the appointment. For each patient details as age, sex, kind of visit (initial visit, follow-up visit or visit with priority level) and type of clinic (general dermatology, second level dermatology or paediatric dermatology) were collected and analyzed.
RESULTS: The overall NA rate was 11.19% and different reasons for NA were found, namely forgetfulness of the appointment, work-related problems and concomitant illness.
CONCLUSION: The most frequent reason for NA is forgetfulness of the appointment and it could be explained by the long time elapsing between booking and visit. Different techniques to reduce forgetfulness have been suggested; in our case the use of a unique call centre that coordinates booking for all the health structures in Milan and the sending of a reminder mobile message have led to good results with a NA rate lower than in other studies.
Authors:
M Cusini; F Auxilia; V Trevisan; U Visconti; S Castaldi
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Giornale italiano di dermatologia e venereologia : organo ufficiale, Società italiana di dermatologia e sifilografia     Volume:  143     ISSN:  0392-0488     ISO Abbreviation:  G Ital Dermatol Venereol     Publication Date:  2008 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-01-26     Completed Date:  2009-04-03     Revised Date:  2012-07-30    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8102852     Medline TA:  G Ital Dermatol Venereol     Country:  Italy    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  353-7     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Institute of Dermatological Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy, IRCCS Foundation Mangiagalli and Regina Elena, Policlinic Hospital, Milan, Italy. m.cusini@policlinico.mi.it
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Appointments and Schedules
Dermatology*
Female
Health Surveys
Humans
Italy
Male
Middle Aged
Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / statistics & numerical data*,  utilization
Patient Compliance / statistics & numerical data*
Reminder Systems / statistics & numerical data*
Skin Diseases / diagnosis,  therapy*
Telephone*
Waiting Lists

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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