Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Department of Ophthalmology, Shaare Zedek Medical Center Affiliated with the Hebrew University, Hadassah School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
J Glaucoma. 2024 Apr 1;33(4):297-302. doi: 10.1097/IJG.0000000000002330. Epub 2023 Oct 23.
Most glaucoma patients with missed appointments report barriers to care and social risk factors. One third expressed interest in engaging with a patient navigator program. Most expressed interest in rescheduling.
The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to care among glaucoma patients with missed appointments and to assess their interest in a patient navigator program.
A cross-sectional study involving adult glaucoma patients from an academic eye center who missed their scheduled appointment between April 18 and July 25, 2022. Participants were surveyed about reasons for missed appointments, barriers to care, social risk factors, and interest in consulting with our patient navigator program.
Of 172 patients with a missed glaucoma appointment, 73% (126/172) were contacted, and 40% (51/126) of those completed the survey. Participant age averaged 67±14 years, half were female (25/51, 49%), and most identified as Black (27/51, 53%) or White (21/51, 40%). Barriers to seeing a doctor including difficulty scheduling appointments (13/51, 26%), transportation (12/51, 24%), and cost or insurance barriers (8/51, 16%). Twenty-eight (55%) respondents reported at least one social risk factor. A positive association was found between having at least one risk factor and expressing interest in consulting our patient navigator (odds ratio=6.7, P =0.009). Overall, a third of respondents expressed interest in engaging with our patient navigator program (17/51, 33%). Two thirds of participants reported awareness of missed appointments (34/51, 67%), of whom 35% (12/34) reported having already rescheduled, 41% (14/34) expressed interest in rescheduling, and 24% (8/34) did not wish to return.
Glaucoma patients with missed appointments report barriers to care and face social risk factors. Telephone outreach may help to re-engage them with care, and patients expressed interest in a patient navigator program to address social needs.
大多数错过预约的青光眼患者报告存在就诊障碍和社会风险因素。三分之一的患者对参与患者导航员计划表示有兴趣。大多数人对重新安排预约表示有兴趣。
本研究旨在确定错过预约的青光眼患者的就诊障碍，并评估他们对患者导航员计划的兴趣。
这是一项横断面研究，涉及 2022 年 4 月 18 日至 7 月 25 日期间在一家学术眼科中心错过预约的成年青光眼患者。参与者被调查错过预约的原因、就诊障碍、社会风险因素以及对我们的患者导航员计划的兴趣。
在 172 名错过青光眼预约的患者中，73%（126/172）被联系，其中 40%（51/126）完成了调查。参与者的平均年龄为 67±14 岁，一半为女性（25/51，49%），大多数为黑人（27/51，53%）或白人（21/51，40%）。就诊障碍包括难以预约（13/51，26%）、交通（12/51，24%）和费用或保险障碍（8/51，16%）。28 名（55%）受访者报告至少存在一个社会风险因素。存在至少一个风险因素与对我们的患者导航员咨询表示有兴趣之间存在正相关关系（比值比=6.7，P=0.009）。总体而言，三分之一的受访者表示有兴趣参与我们的患者导航员计划（17/51，33%）。三分之二的参与者报告已经意识到错过预约（34/51，67%），其中 35%（12/34）已重新安排预约，41%（14/34）表示有兴趣重新安排预约，24%（8/34）不希望返回。
错过预约的青光眼患者报告存在就诊障碍，并面临社会风险因素。电话随访可能有助于重新使他们参与到治疗中，并且患者对患者导航员计划表达了兴趣，以解决社会需求。
