Missed appointments hurt everyone at the hospital Published Oct. 10, 2012 By Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Wolf JBER Public Affairs JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- There is a new epidemic running rampant on JBER and it is different than one that the 673d Medical Group would normally deal with. That epidemic is missed appointments. "Currently, nearly 8 percent of appointments booked at the hospital end up as a no-show. Each time that occurs, an appointment, which was invariably needed by another patient, goes unused," said Air Force Col. Marriner Oldham, 673d Medical Group chief of medical staff. "In addition, the patient then reschedules another appointment, and another opportunity for someone else to be seen is taken away." For the fiscal year 2012, there were more than 2,500 appointments missed, said Lt. Col. Shawn Bransky, 673 MDG group practice manager. Although missing appointments affect individuals, it also affects funding the hospital receives, which is used to make improvements to the facility. "The financial impact of this problem is tremendous," Oldham said. "When patients are not seen in those slots, we lose more than $300,000 in funding that would have been used to improve services for our patients." The impact isn't strictly financial. Oldham said missed appointments affect manpower and in turn there will be fewer people at the hospital to take care of the patients. People who call and cancel help free up a slot for someone that may need that particular doctor. "There's always a patient who needs an appointment," Bransky said. "That appointment slot will never go un-booked if it's canceled." Bransky and Oldham both stated it is up to the patient to reverse this rising number of missed appointments. "Your help in reversing this trend is critical," Oldham said. "We realize that events and circumstances come up on short notice that may prevent you from attending your appointment. "If this happens, please help us take care of you and your family by cancelling at least two hours in advance so that your appointment can be offered to another patient." The cure for this epidemic is easy. All you have to do is take the appropriate steps to cancel our appointment. If you need to cancel an appointment, you can call the appointment line at 907-580-2778 and then choose option one. The appointment line is available Monday through Friday, from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except on federal holidays. After hours or on the weekend, you can leave a message to have your appointment canceled. If you booked your appointment online at www.tricareonline.com, you can cancel it online.