Patients' Reported Reasons of Non-Attendance in a Respiratory Outpatient Services

Non-attendance to planned care is a widespread problem across different hospital setting worldwide. It affects healthcare resources by reducing clinic efficiency and incresing wait times for specialist consultations and waiting lists. A phone-based interview questionnaire was utilised among patients identified as non-attendee at the respiratory outpatient services of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Ireland. Out of 30 identified non-attendance, 14 responded and completed te survey interview. The majority of patients were aged 65 and above. The main reason for non-attendance was a lack of awareness of the planned care (n=10), an appointment cancelled by a hospital staff member (n=2), forgetting the appointment (n=1), and hospital admission (n=1). These highlights the importance of appointment notifications, reminder letters and empowering patients to be responsible in their scheduled care. In light of digital transformation, considering an electronic notification to remind patients of their hospital appointments can help minimize this healthcare problem. Further studies to determine other factors influencing non-attendance to outpatient care is recommended.