Scott Michael, Allen Sian, Bamford Alasdair, Walshe Maria, Clark Celia Ingham
Whittington Hospital, London N19 5NF, UK.
J R Soc Med. 2002 Sep;95(9):448-9. doi: 10.1177/014107680209500906.
Non-attendance for barium enema investigation wastes resources, prolongs waiting times and delays diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma. In an inner-city hospital with a previous non-attendance rate of over 20% for barium enema we investigated the value of systematic personal contact with a nurse practitioner at the time of booking. We compared two groups of patients, all of whom received an explanation of the procedure from the referring clinician. Patients referred from the colorectal clinic were accompanied by the colorectal nurse practitioner to the radiology department for booking, an appointment being sent later by mail. The nurse practitioner reiterated the details of the procedure, provided supplementary information, confirmed the patient's contact details and provided a telephone number in case further information or assistance was needed. Patients referred from the gastroenterology clinic were managed as previously, making their own way to the radiology department and receiving supplementary information only on request. The patients referred from the two clinics were closely similar; however, the non-attendance rate for the intervention (colorectal) clinic was 4/157 (2.5%) compared with 17/110 (15.5%) for the comparison clinic (P<0.001). A year previously the non-attendance rates in these clinics had been 23% and 20%, respectively. These results indicate that personal contact, with supplementary information, can substantially reduce the non-attendance rate for barium enema.
未按时接受钡剂灌肠检查会造成资源浪费、延长等待时间并延误结直肠癌的诊断。在一家市中心医院，之前钡剂灌肠检查的未按时就诊率超过20%，我们调查了在预约时与执业护士进行系统个人联系的价值。我们比较了两组患者，所有患者均已从转诊医生处得到了该检查程序的解释。从结直肠诊所转诊的患者由结直肠执业护士陪同前往放射科进行预约，随后通过邮件发送预约通知。执业护士重申了检查程序的细节，提供了补充信息，确认了患者的联系方式，并提供了一个电话号码，以备需要进一步信息或帮助时使用。从胃肠病诊所转诊的患者按以前的方式处理，自行前往放射科，仅在需要时才会收到补充信息。从两个诊所转诊的患者非常相似；然而，干预组（结直肠诊所）的未按时就诊率为4/157（2.5%），而对照组诊所为17/110（15.5%）（P<0.001）。一年前，这些诊所的未按时就诊率分别为23%和20%。这些结果表明，通过个人联系并提供补充信息，可以大幅降低钡剂灌肠检查的未按时就诊率。
