Slattery Fionn J, Farrell Eric, Lacy Peter D
Otolaryngology, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, IRL.
Cureus. 2022 Jul 17;14(7):e26944. doi: 10.7759/cureus.26944. eCollection 2022 Jul.
Aim This study investigates the rate of non-attendance at ENT outpatient appointments in the post-COVID era and the effect of the 2021 Irish cyber-attack on non-attendance. Methods A retrospective review of the rates of non-attendance in a post-COVID pre-cyber-attack era wherein patients received an automated text message reminder about their appointment was compared to a post-cyber-attack era wherein the text message reminder system was disabled. In addition, these were compared with rates of non-attendance prior to when the reminder system was introduced. Three periods were compared, two weeks prior to the introduction of the text reminder system, two weeks pre-cyber-attack, and two weeks post-cyber-attack. Results Period 1 measured rates of non-attendance prior to the introduction of the text reminder system. Period 2 measured rates of non-attendance at outpatient appointments and consisted of nine clinic days, with two clinics per day. Period 3 similarly measured rates of non-attendance at outpatient appointments and consisted of 10 clinic days, with two clinics per day. The text reminder service was disabled during this collection period because of the cyber-attack. The average non-attendance rate was 16.99% for period 1, 13.00% for period 2, and 16.13% for period 3. A Fisher Exact Test was carried out on data with a p-value set at <0.05. Results reached statistical significance. Conclusion Our data shows non-attendance at ENT outpatient appointments increased without the text reminder system. Over two weeks after the attack, non-attendance increased by approximately 3%, which was statistically significant.
目的 本研究调查了新冠疫情后时代耳鼻喉科门诊预约的爽约率，以及2021年爱尔兰网络攻击对爽约情况的影响。方法 回顾性比较了新冠疫情后、网络攻击前患者收到预约自动短信提醒时代的爽约率，与短信提醒系统因网络攻击而停用的网络攻击后时代的爽约率。此外，还将这些数据与提醒系统引入之前的爽约率进行了比较。比较了三个时间段：短信提醒系统引入前两周、网络攻击前两周和网络攻击后两周。结果 第1阶段测量了短信提醒系统引入前的爽约率。第2阶段测量了门诊预约的爽约率，包括9个诊日，每天两个诊所。第3阶段同样测量了门诊预约的爽约率，包括10个诊日，每天两个诊所。在此收集期间，由于网络攻击，短信提醒服务被停用。第1阶段的平均爽约率为16.99%，第2阶段为13.任00%，第3阶段为16.13%。对数据进行了Fisher精确检验，设定p值<0.05。结果具有统计学意义。结论 我们的数据显示，没有短信提醒系统时，耳鼻喉科门诊预约的爽约率会增加。攻击发生两周多后，爽约率增加了约3%，具有统计学意义。
