JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Have you ever had that moment where you set up an appointment and completely forgot about it because you were too busy? You’re not the only one. The Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson hospital averages approximately 1,100 missed appointments every month.
In fiscal year 2015, the no-show appointment total was 13,344 patients — estimated cost of about $2 million.
Schedules and appointment durations can vary from provider to provider, but most are around 15 to 20 minutes in length, said Air Force Maj. Mark Sabroski, 673 Medical Support Squadron TRICARE Operations and Patient Administration flight commander.
“If two patients are scheduled to see the same provider in back-to-back appointments and the first patient shows up 15 minutes late and the second patient shows up on time, the second patient will be seen as scheduled and the first patient will be given the option to wait to be fit in (if possible) or reschedule,” Sabroski said.
“Patients are commonly a no-show to the Family Health and Physical Therapy clinics,” said Group Practice Manager Air Force Maj. Christopher McMillian assigned to the 673 Medical Group. “[The value cost for missed appointments] will vary by clinic, as the cost of an appointment differs depending on the medical specialty. The averages for [Family Health and Physical Therapy clinic] are $202 and $176 respectively.”
A no-show reduces the medical staff’s capacity to provide efficient healthcare for other patients who are, or could have been, scheduled that day.
“A no-show takes an otherwise available appointment away from another beneficiary, either forcing a delay in care or an appointment with another provider less familiar with the patient’s medical history,” McMillan said. “Our hospital’s no-show policy guarantees that patients who arrive less than 15 minutes late for their appointment will be seen by their provider as soon as that provider can accommodate. This is still incredibly disruptive to the provider’s daily schedule, and will often force delays in other patient appointments.”
The goal of the 673d Medical Group is to offer healthcare for those in need by providing the best medical care access to services and families. They deliver health care to 20 percent of the Anchorage population by providing more than 225,000 outpatient visits; 3,000 surgeries; 690,000 prescriptions; and 645,000 lab procedures annually.
Statistically, active-duty members have a 5.6 percent no-show rate; family member’s rate is 6.75 percent. Both are slightly above the hospital’s no-show goal of 5 percent or less consistent with the Air Force Instruction 44-176, Access to Care Continuum.
According to the AFI, medical treatment facilities need to keep no-show rates at no more than five percent of all booked appointments.
If patients need to cancel an appointment, they can do so any time up to two hours prior to their appointment. Attempted cancellations less than two hours from their appointment time will be designated as a no-show.
To set-up an appointment reminder by email or text message, patients are encourage to have an active TRICARE Online account www.tricareonline.com.
“We strongly encourage patients to have an active TRICARE Online account as the system allows the patient to easily cancel any appointments they have booked,” Sabroski said. “Patients may also cancel appointments via telephone call to our central appointment line at 580-2778 for appointments in Family Health, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Optometry, and Women’s Health. Patient should contact specialty clinics directly for cancellation in those clinics.”
“We are generally trending in the right direction when it comes to no-show appointments,” McMillan said. “For the fiscal year to date, our no-show appointments are 13 percent lower than at the same time last year. We are always doing whatever we can to improve our patients’ experience in the hospital.”