Evaluation of a Patient-Care Planning Intervention to Improve Appointment Attendance by Adults After Bariatric Surgery.

OBJECTIVES

Bariatric surgery is recognized as a durable treatment for severe obesity; however, high rates of nonattendance and patient engagement during the postoperative period remain challenges. This pre/post study evaluates a quality-improvement initiative to improve attendance at bariatric surgery program appointments and to heighten program efficiency, as measured by appointment attendance, cancellations and new assessments.

METHODS

Patients and staff were consulted in order to identify causes for patient attrition after surgery. The ideas for change that were implemented were advance care-planning calls and e-mails in order to tailor appointments to patients' needs and an online application of follow-up care information. Online surveys were used to assess patient satisfaction. After several plan-do-study-act cycles, appointment attendance rates for 5,676 appointments between April 1, 2014, and May 29, 2015, were compared pre- and post-quality improvement intervention. For the intervention, 1,294 patients were called, representing 4,124 appointments. Both preoperative and postoperative attendance rates and costs were examined.

RESULTS

Although postoperative attendance and no-show rates changed by only 1.8% postintervention, advance cancellations increased by 6%; indications of special-cause variation were attributable to the intervention. With advance cancellations increasing, time was available for preoperative and nonroutine postoperative appointments, refilling 6.6 appointments per week. As a result, cost savings were $21,251 based on unused clinician time. The contact rate of patients was 45%, and patient satisfaction was high.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, this quality-improvement intervention was able to improve patient-centred care and clinic efficiency through the use of advance-care planning as evaluated by appointment attendance data and patient satisfaction surveys.