Evaluating the Impact of Patient No-Shows on Service Quality

Abstract

Purpose

Patient no-shows are long-standing issues affecting resource utilization and posing risks to the quality of healthcare services. They also lead to loss of anticipated revenue, particularly in services where resources are expensive and in great demand.

Methods

In order to address common reasons why patients miss appointments, this study reviews the current literature and investigates various tools and methods that have been implemented to mitigate such issues. Further, a case study is conducted to identify the rate of no-shows and underlying causes at a radiology department in one of the leading hospitals in the MENA region.

Results

Our results show that the no-shows are high due to multiple factors, such as patient behavior, patients’ financial situation, environmental factors and scheduling policy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we generate a list of recommendations that can help in reducing the rate of patient no-shows, such as patient education, application of dynamic scheduling policies and effective appointment reminder systems to patients.

Keywords:

• quality
• no-shows
• overbooking
• resource utilization
• scheduling policy
• patient appointment
• predictive analytics

Acknowledgments

This publication is based upon work supported by the Khalifa University of Science and Technology under Award No. RC2 DSO.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.