'Missingness' in health care: Associations between hospital utilization and missed appointments in general practice. A retrospective cohort study.
Andrea E WilliamsonRoss McQueenieDavid A EllisAlexander McConnachiePhilip WilsonPublished in: PloS one (2021)
Patients who miss high numbers of GP appointments are higher users of outpatient and inpatient hospital care but not of emergency departments, signalling high treatment burden. The pattern of 'missingness' is consistent from primary care to hospital care: patients who have patterns of missing GP appointments have patterns of missing many outpatient appointments and are more likely to experience 'irregular discharge' from in-patient care. Missingness from outpatient mental health services is very high. Policymakers, health service planners and clinicians should consider the role and contribution of 'missingness' in health care to improving patient safety and care.
Keyphrases
- healthcare
- patient safety
- general practice
- palliative care
- quality improvement
- primary care
- end stage renal disease
- affordable care act
- ejection fraction
- chronic kidney disease
- newly diagnosed
- mental health
- emergency department
- adverse drug
- pain management
- peritoneal dialysis
- prognostic factors
- risk factors
- patient reported outcomes
- health information
- social media
- patient reported