title: Timing of procedure and compliance with outpatient endoscopy among an underserved population in an inner-city tertiary institution.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Anecdotal evidence suggests that patient compliance with colonoscopy is poorer with Monday procedures and better during the winter months because "there is not much else to do." We examined patients' compliance with scheduled outpatient endoscopy by time of the day, days of the week, and seasons of the year.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included 2873 patients who were scheduled for endoscopy from September 2009 to August 2010. Compliant patients were those who showed up for their procedures whereas noncompliant patients were those who did not show up without canceling or rescheduling their procedures up to 24 hours before their scheduled procedures. We used logistic regression models to evaluate the association between the timing of the scheduled procedure and compliance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 574 (20%) patients did not show up. There was no difference in compliance by time of day of the procedures. However, when compared with patients scheduled for procedures on Monday, there was a trend towards improved compliance as the week progressed, becoming significant on Friday (odds ratio 1.46; 95% confidence interval 1.06-2.00). There was also better compliance in the warmer months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Noncompliance with outpatient endoscopy is substantial among underserved populations with limited predictive pattern of compliance by the timing of the procedures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC 20060, USA.
authors.forename: Dilhana S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Badurdeen
authors.forename: Nisser A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Umar
authors.forename: Rehana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Begum
authors.forename: Andrew K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Sanderson
authors.forename: Momodu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jack
authors.forename: Getachew
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mekasha
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kwagyan
authors.forename: Duane T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Smoot
authors.forename: Adeyinka O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Laiyemo
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D004219:District of Columbia; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012621:Seasons; D013997:Time Factors; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*