How to reduce no-shows for first IVF consultations
Book them soon, speak to them before you give a slot, and remind them more than once.
How often are appointments missed?
About 23% across medicine (Dantas et al., Health Policy, 2018), and no figure exists for IVF, so count your own.
Who is most likely to stay away?
Patients who waited long and patients who missed one before, so offer the earliest slot first.
Do reminders work?
Yes: 67% of patients attended with text reminders and 54% without, and several reminders beat one (Robotham et al., BMJ Open, 2016).
What helps before the booking?
A phone call that checks treatment, budget, travel, timing and age, as in how to screen international patients.
What should you track?
Attended, rescheduled, cancelled and no-show, by where the patient came from.
Want appointments that show up and match your criteria?
See if your clinic qualifies →Sources
- Dantas LF, Fleck JL, Cyrino Oliveira FL, Hamacher S. No-shows in appointment scheduling, a systematic literature review. Health Policy, 2018. doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2018.02.002
- Robotham D, Satkunanathan S, Reynolds J, Stahl D, Wykes T. Using digital notifications to improve attendance in clinic: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open, 2016. doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012116