title: [Advanced booking as strategy for diminishing appointments on demand: an approach].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We looked at a group of patients included in the arterial hypertension (AHT) sub-programme, in order to analyse whether an appointment booked in advance can reduce the number of on-demand consultations requested by the patients themselves. We also assessed whether these patients sought more on-demand consultations than consumers not included in any sub-programme.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective, observational, crossover study, with no random distribution. SITE. Barrio del Carmen Health Centre in Murcia.
  
  
  METHODS
  541 consumers not included in any sub-programme and 67 patients involved in the AHT sub-programme.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients involved in the AHT sub-programme had 9.9 +/- 8.7 on-demand consultations per year, one year before their involvement. In 1987, they had 8.3 +/- 6.2; and in 1989, 7.3 +/- 6.3 (p > 0.05). These patients did not have any more on-demand consultations than those not involved in any sub-programme, except in the 50 to 65 age-group (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our model does not show that a booked medical appointment is an adequate tool for reducing demand, even when the number of booked consultations significantly increases.
authors: Centro de Salud Barrio del Carmen, Murcia.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Navarro Martínez
authors: J M
authors: JM
authors: Serna García
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Guillén Montiel
authors: M N
authors: MN
authors: Martínez González Moro
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Gómez Jara
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Saura Llamas
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D008331:Management Information Systems; D012189:Retrospective Studies
vernacular_title: La consulta programada como estrategia para disminuir la consulta a demanda: una aproximación.