Interventions to increase appointment attendance in safety net health centers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Rationale, aims and objectives Missed appointments are a persistent problem across healthcare settings, and result in negative outcomes for providers and patients. We aimed to review and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce missed appointments in safety net settings. Methods We conducted a systematic review of interventions reported in three electronic databases. Data extraction and quality assessment were conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. Eligible studies were analyzed qualitatively to describe intervention types. A random effects model was used to measure the pooled relative risk of appointment adherence across interventions in the meta-analysis. Results Thirty-four studies met inclusion criteria for the qualitative synthesis, and 21 studies reported sufficient outcome data for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Qualitative analysis classified nine types of interventions used to increase attendance; however, application of each intervention type varied widely between studies. Across all study types (N= 12 000), RR was 1.08, (95% CI 1.03, 1.13) for any intervention used to increase appointment attendance. No single intervention was clearly effective: facilitated appointment scheduling [RR = 3.31 (95% CI: 0.30, 37.13)], financial incentives [RR = 1.88 (0.73, 4.82)] case management/patient navigator [RR = 1.09, (0.96, 1.24)], text messages [RR = 1.02 (0.96, 1.08)], transportation, [RR = 1.05 (0.98, 1.13)], telephone reminder calls [RR 1.12, (0.87, 1.45)], in-person referrals, [RR = 1.01 (0.90, 1.13)], patient contracts [RR = 0.87 (0.52, 1.46)] or combined strategies, [RR = 1.16 (1.03, 1.32)]. No strategy was clearly superior to others,pinteraction = .50. Conclusions Strategies to improve appointment adherence in safety net hospitals varied widely and were only modestly effective. Further research harmonizing intervention delivery within each strategy and comparing strategies with the most potential for success is needed.

Automated summary

Missed appointments are a persistent problem in healthcare, leading to negative outcomes. This study reviewed interventions to reduce missed appointments in safety net settings, finding that current strategies vary widely in effectiveness and no single intervention stands out as clearly superior. Further research on harmonizing intervention delivery and comparing strategies is needed.