title: Effectiveness of outreach to patients with diabetes who have fallen out of regular care at a federally qualified health center.
abstract: Re-engaging patients who have fallen out of regular care is a challenge for all primary care practices, but especially for federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). We implemented and evaluated a system of proactive telephone and mail outreach within an FQHC serving a predominantly Latino and Spanish-speaking population for patients with diabetes who had not had a visit to the health center for at least six months. The primary study outcome was the proportion of patients who completed a follow-up visit within three months of the outreach. We also examined patient characteristics associated with completing a follow-up visit. Of 208 patients eligible for outreach, 24% (n = 49) completed a follow-up visit. Thirty-six percent (n = 74) had a disconnected or incorrect phone number, 16% (n = 34) were not reached within three phone call attempts, and 20% (n = 22) of letters mailed were returned to sender. Future efforts to re-engage patients in diabetes care should examine shorter intervals before outreach and other outreach strategies.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ramirez-Zohfeld
authors.forename: Muriel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jean-Jacques
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sanserino
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buchanan
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D002641:Chicago / Q000453:epidemiology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D064876:Safety-net Providers