title: Missed Appointments: Factors Contributing to High No-Show Rates in an Urban Pediatrics Primary Care Clinic.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Missed appointments complicate primary care services.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine factors associated with missed pediatric appointments.
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample of 1537 patients who missed appointments were called and 386 (25%) families completed the 26-item survey. Those with high no-show rates were compared with the rest using χ(2) and Fisher's exact tests. Initial covariates with P < .2 were included in a multivariate logistic regression model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Common reasons for missing appointments were the following: forgot (27%), transportation problems (21%), and time off of work (14%). The high no-show group had more African Americans (P = .030) and older patients (P = .003). Higher no-show rates correlated with well child visits (P = .029) and perception of "excellent health" (P = .022). In the logistic regression model, well child appointments (odds ratio = 2.56) and increasing age in years (odds ratio = 1.11) were associated with higher no-show rates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Efforts to decrease no-show rates should target older patients and well child visits.
authors: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Ronald.Samuels@childrens.harvard.edu.
authors: Ronald C
authors: RC
authors: Samuels
authors: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Valerie L
authors: VL
authors: Ward
authors: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Patrice
authors: P
authors: Melvin
authors: Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, Burlington, MA, USA.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Macht-Greenberg
authors: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Larissa M
authors: LM
authors: Wenren
authors: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors: Jessica
authors: J
authors: Yi
authors: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Gordon
authors: G
authors: Massey
authors: Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors: Joanne E
authors: JE
authors: Cox
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D002648:Child; D003710:Demography; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008404:Massachusetts; D010372:Pediatrics; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D019037:Urban Health Services
keywords: appointments and schedules; missed appointments; pediatric care; primary health care