title: Factors associated with patient absenteeism for scheduled endoscopy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify risk factors to help predict which patients are likely to fail to appear for an endoscopic procedure.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective, chart review, cohort study in a Canadian, tertiary care, academic, hospital-based endoscopy clinic. Patients included were: those undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy, colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy and patients who failed to appear were compared to a control group. The main outcome measure was a multivariate analysis of factors associated with truancy from scheduled endoscopic procedures. Factors analyzed included gender, age, waiting time, type of procedure, referring physician, distance to hospital, first or subsequent endoscopic procedure or encounter with gastroenterologist, and urgency of the procedure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred and thirty-four patients did not show up for their scheduled appointment. Compared to a control group, factors statistically significantly associated with truancy in the multivariate analysis were: non-urgent vs urgent procedure (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.06, 2.450), referred by a specialist vs a family doctor (OR 2.76, 95% CI 1.31, 5.52) and office-based consult prior to endoscopy vs consult and endoscopic procedure during the same appointment (OR 2.24, 95% CI 1.33, 3.78).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Identifying patients who are not scheduled for same-day consult and endoscopy, those referred by a specialist, and those with non-urgent referrals may help reduce patient truancy.
authors.affiliation: St Paul's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Victor K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Hong-Bin
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Enns
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D004724:Endoscopy; D006801:Humans; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment