Bickler C B
J R Coll Gen Pract. 1985 Jan;35(270):19-22.
In a two-month study in an urban general practice of eight partners, 11.7 per cent of patients failed to attend for their appointments. Defaulters were younger than a control group of attenders, but the male to female ratio was almost identical. Annual consultation rates for defaulters were slightly lower than controls. Return visits had a default rate of 18 per cent and there was a strong statistical correlation between how and when an appointment was made and the default rate, with a maximum default rate of 19 per cent if the appointment was made between one to two weeks in advance. There was a significant difference in default rate between the partners (range 7.2-14.6 per cent) and the default rate was lowest on Mondays (9.7 per cent) and highest on Fridays (14.9 per cent). The majority of the defaulters had only defaulted once in the previous 12 months. These findings have important implications when planning an appointment system and asking patients to return for follow-up.
在一项针对由八名合伙人组成的城市全科诊所开展的为期两个月的研究中，11.7%的患者未按预约就诊。爽约者比对照组的就诊者更年轻，但男女比例几乎相同。爽约者的年咨询率略低于对照组。复诊的爽约率为18%，预约方式和时间与爽约率之间存在很强的统计相关性，如果预约提前一至两周进行，最高爽约率为19%。合伙人之间的爽约率存在显著差异（范围为7.2%至14.6%），周一的爽约率最低（9.7%），周五最高（14.9%）。大多数爽约者在过去12个月中只爽约过一次。这些发现对于规划预约系统以及要求患者复诊具有重要意义。
