Biomaterial Database

The no-show patient in the model family practice unit. 1978

J V Dervin, and D L Stone, and C H Beck

Appointment breaking by patients causes problems for the physician's office. Patients who neither keep nor cancel their appointments are often referred to as "no shows." Twenty variables were identified as potential predictors of no-show behavior. These predictors were applied to 291 Family Practice Center patients during a one-month study in April 1977. A discriminant function and multiple regression procedure were utilized ascertain the predictability of the selected variables. Predictive accuracy of the variables was 67.4 percent compared to the presently utilized constant predictor technique, which is 73 percent accurate. Modification of appointment schedules based upon utilization of the variables studies as predictors of show/no-show behavior does not appear to be an effective strategy in the Family Practice Center of the Community Hospital of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, due to the high proportion of patients who do, in fact, show. In clinics with lower show rates, the technique may prove to be an effective strategy.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010044	Outpatient Clinics, Hospital	Organized services in a hospital which provide medical care on an outpatient basis.	Ambulatory Care Facilities, Hospital,Hospital Outpatient Clinics,Clinic, Hospital Outpatient,Clinics, Hospital Outpatient,Hospital Outpatient Clinic,Outpatient Clinic, Hospital
D010349	Patient Compliance	Voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen.	Client Adherence,Client Compliance,Non-Adherent Patient,Patient Adherence,Patient Cooperation,Patient Noncompliance,Patient Non-Adherence,Patient Non-Compliance,Patient Nonadherence,Therapeutic Compliance,Treatment Compliance,Adherence, Client,Adherence, Patient,Client Compliances,Compliance, Client,Compliance, Patient,Compliance, Therapeutic,Compliance, Treatment,Cooperation, Patient,Non Adherent Patient,Non-Adherence, Patient,Non-Adherent Patients,Non-Compliance, Patient,Nonadherence, Patient,Noncompliance, Patient,Patient Non Adherence,Patient Non Compliance,Patient, Non-Adherent,Therapeutic Compliances,Treatment Compliances
D002140	California	State bounded on the east by Nevada and Arizona, on the south by Mexico and the Pacific Ocean on the south and west, and on the north by Oregon.
D005194	Family Practice	A medical specialty concerned with the provision of continuing, comprehensive primary health care for the entire family.	Family Practices,Practice, Family,Practices, Family
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001071	Appointments and Schedules	The different methods of scheduling patient visits, appointment systems, individual or group appointments, waiting times, waiting lists for hospitals, walk-in clinics, etc.	Patient Appointments,Patient Schedules,Schedules, Patient,Appointments,Schedules,Appointment,Appointment, Patient,Appointments, Patient,Patient Appointment,Patient Schedule,Schedule,Schedule, Patient,Schedules and Appointments
D012961	Sociology	A social science dealing with group relationships, patterns of collective behavior, and social organization.	General Social Development and Population