title: Do 'do not attends' at a genitourinary medicine service matter?
abstract: Patients who do not attend (DNA) clinic appointments are wasteful of resources and may also pose a potential public health risk through the onward transmission of untreated sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This service evaluation was performed to assess the demographics of DNAs, patient reasons for non-attendance and follows up data to determine the health outcomes of non-attendance. The genitourinary (GU) medicine clinic DNA rate between October 2008 and March 2009 was 6% (383/6961). Of the 383 patients who DNA'd their appointment successful telephone contact was made in 182 (48%) of them. Of these 40% of patients reported that they had forgotten they held an appointment; no patients reported that clinic opening hours prevented their attendance. Telephone contact increased GU medicine clinic attendance by 9% (35/383), but led to a greater number of subsequent DNAs; 43/75 (63%) of patients who accepted a further appointment DNA'd that appointment. Sending a SMS text message to patients who DNA notifying them of the time of walk-in services might be the most effective way of recapturing these patients without compromising future clinic appointment slots.
authors.affiliation: University of Southampton, School of Medicine, Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Swarbrick
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Foley
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sanmani
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Patel
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000175:diagnosis; D005832:Genital Diseases, Male / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D017010:Reminder Systems; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D006113:United Kingdom