Interventions to improve patient appointments in an ambulatory care facility.

Failed patient appointments in ambulatory care may result in decreased revenues. The purpose of this study was to determine if patient reminders would affect the "no-show" rate of a medical ambulatory care setting. Patients of 10 physicians participated in a 6-week study. Patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: 2 weeks of appointment reminder postcards, 2 weeks of appointment reminder phone calls, and 2 weeks of no intervention. Chi-square analysis revealed significant differences between the control group and the two groups receiving interventions. Patient reminders may be a mechanism to decrease the no-show rate in ambulatory care.