Dataset Information

Patient punctuality and clinic performance: observations from an academic-based private practice pain centre: a prospective quality improvement study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of an intervention to alter patient unpunctuality. The major hypothesis was that the intervention will change the distribution of patient unpunctuality by decreasing patient tardiness and increasing patient earliness.

Design

Prospective Quality Improvement.

Setting

Specialty Pain Clinic in suburban Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Participants

The patient population ranged in age from 18 to 93?years. All patients presenting to the clinic during the study period were included in the study. The average monthly volume was 86.2 (SD=13) patients. A total of 1500 patient visits were included in this study.

Interventions

We tracked appointment times and patient arrival times at an ambulatory pain clinic. An intervention was made in which patients were informed that tardy patients would not be seen and would be rescheduled. This policy was enforced over a 12-month period.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The distribution of patient unpunctuality was developed preintervention and at 12?months after implementation. Distribution parameters were used as inputs to a discrete event simulation to determine effects of the change in patient unpunctuality on clinic delay.

Results

Data regarding patient unpunctuality were gathered by direct observation before and after implementation of the intervention. The mean unpunctuality changed from -20.5?min (110 observations, SD=1.7) preintervention to -23.2 (169, 1.2) at 1?month after the intervention, -23.8?min (69, 1.8) at 6?months and -25.0?min (71, 1.2) after 1?year. The unpunctuality 12?months after initiation of the intervention was significantly different from that prior to the intervention (p<0.05).

Conclusions

Physicians and staff are able to alter patient arrival patterns to reduce patient unpunctuality. Reducing tardiness improves some measures of clinic performance, but may not always improve waiting times. Accommodating early arriving patients does serve to improve clinic performance.

SUBMITTER: Williams KA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4024595 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Patient punctuality and clinic performance: observations from an academic-based private practice pain centre: a prospective quality improvement study.

Williams Kayode A KA Chambers Chester G CG Dada Maqbool M McLeod Julia C JC Ulatowski John A JA

BMJ open 20140515 5

<h4>Objectives</h4>The aim of this study was to examine the effects of an intervention to alter patient unpunctuality. The major hypothesis was that the intervention will change the distribution of patient unpunctuality by decreasing patient tardiness and increasing patient earliness.<h4>Design</h4>Prospective Quality Improvement.<h4>Setting</h4>Specialty Pain Clinic in suburban Baltimore, Maryland, USA.<h4>Participants</h4>The patient population ranged in age from 18 to 93 years. All patients p ...[more]

PMID: 24833686

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Dataset Information

Patient punctuality and clinic performance: observations from an academic-based private practice pain centre: a prospective quality improvement study.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants

Interventions

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Patient punctuality and clinic performance: observations from an academic-based private practice pain centre: a prospective quality improvement study.

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