“I believe these measures will not only save money and improve efficiency, but just as importantly it will make the service more personal and friendly. In the last few months we’ve been piloting the call confirmation service and already we have saved several hundred appointments already which is a significant reduction. Both schemes are now up and running and should really help us tackle this important and costly issue.”
Anthony Edwards Outpatient Access Manager
UHSM tackles costly missed outpatient appointments
UHSM last year recorded 35,000 wasted patient appointments because people either forgot they were due to attend, or decided they no longer needed to see the doctor. Now we have introduced two key initiatives which have the potential to radically improve efficiency, reduce wasted medical and nursing time and save as much as £250,000 in the next 12 months.
The first is an appointment confirmation service, whereby a patient who is due to attend an outpatient clinic will receive a phone call one week prior to their appointment. The call is free of charge, and will be either an automated or telephone call from an outpatient Contact Centre, and will allow patients to confirm their attendance.
The second initiative is changing the way appointments are booked for patients who require a follow up more than six weeks later. Instead of arranging a further appointment immediately after a patient’s consultation, the Trust will now write to them inviting them to arrange their appointment booking. The letter will invite the patient to ring the Contact Centre on a particular number to agree a date and time that is convenient to them.
Anthony Edwards, Outpatient Access Manager at UHSM says: “Both of our initiatives are expected to make booking appointments much easier and will reduce the number of patients who do not show up for their outpatient appointment and hospital cancellations."