Comparing No-Show Rates Between Palliative Care and Non-Palliative Care Outpatient Clinics at King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, KSA: A Focus on Oncology

Abstract

Author(s): Asrar Omar Abduldaiem*, Ahmad Fouad Alem, Hadeel Saleh Alissa and Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Suhai

Background: No-shows occur, when patient fails to attend a scheduled appointment with no prior notification to the healthcare provider. They are missed healthcare utilized time slots and resources. Aim: The aim is to determine rate of no-show to palliative care clinic in comparison to non-palliative care clinics and identify reasons for patient’s missing their appointment. Methodology: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in King Fahad Medical City affiliated to the Ministry of Health in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Results: Our study showed that the overall rate of missed appointments in outpatient clinics was 22.5%. Palliative care outpatient clinic reported 39.81%. The main reasons for no-shows were admission/transfer to another hospital or ER, inconvenient appointment times, and patient death. Conclusion: Our research revealed that the rate of missed appointments was higher in the palliative care outpatient clinic than in the non-palliative care clinic in King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, KSA. Which is a concern.

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