How do elderly veterans who fail to keep outpatient clinic appointments differ from those who do not

P R Health Sci J. 1987 Dec;6(3):141-6.

Abstract

The study asked how do elderly veterans who fail to keep appointments in the General Medicine and Surgery Out-Patient Clinics in the San Juan, VA Hospital differ from those who do not. Three hypothesis were formulated: 1. Elderly patients who fail to keep appointments have other medical alternatives in non-VA facilities. 2. Elderly patients who fail to keep appointments have a longer waiting time between appointments. 3. Elderly patients who are given appointments in various clinics within a short period of time fail to keep appointments. A sample of fifty-three elderly veterans from the Medical Out-Patient Clinics was drawn. A face-to-face structured interview was used to collect the data. The interview was designed to obtain socio-demographic characteristics, use of clinics, and recommendations to improve services. A percentage analysis was used to point out differences and similarities. The findings supported the hypothesis that patients who failed to keep appointments not only used private non-VA facilities, but also had the financial resources to pay for them. Data confirmed that those who failed to keep appointments have to wait a longer time between appointments. Patients who failed to keep appointments considered them too infrequent which resulted in forgetting the appointments.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Appointments and Schedules*
  • Female
  • Hospitals, Veterans
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Outpatient Clinics, Hospital
  • Patient Dropouts*
  • Puerto Rico
  • Veterans*