title: Non-attendance at a difficult-asthma clinic.
abstract: Increasing demand for our weekly difficult-asthma clinic means routine appointments are at a premium. This led us to explore the reasons why patients failed to attend for appointments and whether contacting them by telephone within a week of their missed scheduled appointment increased attendance. Memory lapses were the most common reason for non-attendance. Telephoning non-attenders led to a two-fold increase in attendance at subsequent clinics. Non-attendance may be a reflection of poor concordance, which, in itself, may contribute to a patient's difficult asthma.
authors.affiliation: Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust, Liverpool.
authors.forename: Beverley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McDonough
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mault
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D001249:Asthma / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017010:Reminder Systems; D013041:Specialties, Nursing; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult