Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 1999 May 22;318(7195):1392-5.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.318.7195.1392.

Effect on hospital attendance rates of giving patients a copy of their referral letter: randomised controlled trial

W Hamilton  1 , A Round, D Sharp
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Effect on hospital attendance rates of giving patients a copy of their referral letter: randomised controlled trial

W Hamilton et al. BMJ. .

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate whether sending patients a copy of their referral letter can reduce non-attendance at outpatient departments.

Design: Blinded randomised controlled trial.

Setting: 13 general practices in Exeter, Devon.

Subjects: 2078 new consultant referrals from 26 doctors.

Main outcome measures: Non-attendance at outpatient departments.

Results: The doctors excluded 117 (5.6%) referrals, and 100 (4.8%) received no appointment. Attendance data were available for 1857 of the 1861 patients sent an appointment (99.8%). The receipt of a copy letter had no effect on the non-attendance rate: copy 50/912 (5.5%) versus control 50/945 (5.3%).

Conclusion: Copy letters are ineffective in reducing non-attendance at outpatient departments.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Committee of Public Accounts 42nd Report. National health service outpatients services in England and Wales. London: Stationery Office; 1995.
    1. Deitch R. Broken NHS appointments: millions wasted? Lancet. 1984;i:1419. - PubMed
    1. Stone CA, Palmer JH, Saxby PJ, Devaraj VS. Reducing non-attendance at outpatient clinics. J R Soc Med. 1999;92:114–118. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Turner AG, Cooke H. Are patients' attitudes the cause of long waiting lists? Br J Clin Pract. 1991;45:97–98. - PubMed
    1. Lloyd M, Bradford C, Webb S. Non-attendance at outpatient clinics: is it related to the referral process? Fam Pract. 1993;10:111–117. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms