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No-Show Rates in an Academic Otolaryngology Practice Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
- Source :
-
Cureus [Cureus] 2024 Feb 11; Vol. 16 (2), pp. e54015. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Feb 11 (Print Publication: 2024). - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Objective: Our objectives were to determine the no-show and nonattendance rate for an outpatient academic otolaryngology practice, to identify patient and systemic factors associated with nonattendance, and to evaluate the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the rate of nonattendance.<br />Methods: This is a retrospective review of the Epic practice management and billing reports from all scheduled outpatient visits at a multi-physician, academic, general, and sub-specialty otolaryngology practice from January 2019 to December 2021.<br />Results: Over three years, 121,347 clinic visits were scheduled in the otolaryngology practice. The overall nonattendance rate was 18.3%. A statistically significant increase in nonattendance was noted during the COVID-19 pandemic (16.8% vs. 19.8%, p < 0.001). The rate of nonattendance in patients of younger age (under 18 years) (p <0.001), female gender (p=0.03), afternoon appointments (p=0.04), and extended time between the day of scheduling and the day of appointment (p <0.001) increased. Head and neck clinics were found to have the lowest nonattendance rates, while pediatric otolaryngology clinics had the highest (12.6% vs. 21.3%). On multivariate regression, younger age (p < 0.001), female gender (p=0.01), afternoon appointments (p< 0.001), and online self-scheduling (p< 0.001) were significantly associated with nonattendance.<br />Conclusions: Both patient and appointment-related factors were found to impact rates of nonattendance in this academic otolaryngology practice. In this study, young age, female gender, afternoon appointments, and online self-scheduling were associated with increased nonattendance. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted no-show rates across all otolaryngologic subspecialties.<br />Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.<br /> (Copyright © 2024, Yuhan et al.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2168-8184
- Volume :
- 16
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Cureus
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 38476808
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.54015