Trends Amongst No Show Patients At The Michigan College Of Optometry. Part 1

Background: This study is meant to explore common trends in personal information among patients that do not show for optometric exams at the Michigan College of Optometry (MCO). Learning parameters that are common amongst patients that no show in clinic will help ingrain what to look for in patients that are not likely to show for treatment in clinical practice. Method: All patient files from January 5, 2009 to July 31, 2009 documented as no-shows were evaluated, totaling 322 patients. Each patient file was examined for personal parameters including: patient sex, age, insurance carrier, date of no-show, time of examination, day of the week of examination, type of examination, and whether or not the patient was established or new to the clinic. These parameters were documented into a database where they were examined for Q correlations. Results: The highest percentages of no show correlations are as follows: female
patients, representing 64.21% in the male/female category, patients ranging from ages 0-17 comprised 30.75% in the age category, in the type of exam category, Primary Care exams represented 40.73%, the insurance plan category had the highest percentage with Medicaid at 47.83%, day of the week showed Wednesday at 27.02%, time of day category showed that the afternoon clinic was the most missed, at 73.06%, and month showed April at 22.05%.
Discussion: The most likely patient to no-show is an established, female Medicaid patient between the ages of 0 and 17 for a PC exam on Wednesdays during afternoon clinic. Conversely, the most likely patient to show is a new, male patient, 66 and older, with military insurance for a keratoconus exam during Tuesday night clinic, if such a Tuesday night clinic were available.