Patients have been missing appointments or have canceled required follow-up testing, which was ordered by providers. These appointments are either canceled within 24hrs or no show before scheduled time. Missed appointments are a cost to the health care system in terms of personnel time, extended waiting lists, and the loss of potentially beneficial services. In the past quarter, we have seen an increase in No Show Rate in the John Adams hospital. A total of 20 (15.6%) patients did not show up out of the 160 weekly spaces available. Each missed appointment at $120 per visit which equals $2,400 in lost revenue in a week. That means, we have lost $28,800 in the past 3 months. Moreover, the patients failed to receive a recommended care, and the
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Medical liability experts say “missed appointments and failures to follow up create some of the greatest legal risks for physicians” because of an insufficient note on the patient chart about no-show. In the survey given by medical liability insurer, The Doctors Company, 53% of respondents said referrals and scheduling follow-up appointments were their top risk-management problems (5). The potential effects to the patients include: Health risk of either patient that doesn’t show or the patient seeking an appointment, unable to book in that no-show slot, delayed care for both the no-show patient and the patient unable to book in that slot. The poor staff utilization, poor continuity of care, poor communication with patients, low stuff responsibilities and low level of moral and ethical responsibilities of the health care workers contribute a huge effect to the patient liability risks, physician lawsuit risks and loss of multiple streams of revenue regarding losing clients. Furthermore, “this in turn could cause a health risk that might eventually contribute to an increase in the emergency room visits or chronic conditions” (4). Moreover, recent research has shown that, among all causes of hospitalization, the length of stay and relapse hospitalization are increased in patients with low adherence to their treatment regimen. Patients
Medical liability experts say “missed appointments and failures to follow up create some of the greatest legal risks for physicians” because of an insufficient note on the patient chart about no-show. In the survey given by medical liability insurer, The Doctors Company, 53% of respondents said referrals and scheduling follow-up appointments were their top risk-management problems (5). The potential effects to the patients include: Health risk of either patient that doesn’t show or the patient seeking an appointment, unable to book in that no-show slot, delayed care for both the no-show patient and the patient unable to book in that slot. The poor staff utilization, poor continuity of care, poor communication with patients, low stuff responsibilities and low level of moral and ethical responsibilities of the health care workers contribute a huge effect to the patient liability risks, physician lawsuit risks and loss of multiple streams of revenue regarding losing clients. Furthermore, “this in turn could cause a health risk that might eventually contribute to an increase in the emergency room visits or chronic conditions” (4). Moreover, recent research has shown that, among all causes of hospitalization, the length of stay and relapse hospitalization are increased in patients with low adherence to their treatment regimen. Patients