110 - Reducing Missed Appointment in children 0-17years old at Chesapeake Healthcare

ABSTRACT 

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to conduct a quality improvement study to identify if 30-day scheduling would improve the total missed appointment rate (TMAR) for basic operative patients aged 0-17 years old at an approved training location within the NYU Brooklyn Family Health Centers- Offsite Dental Programs located in Princess Anne, Maryland.

Methods: This project is designed as a quality improvement analysis based on the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) “Model for Improvement” which utilizes the methodology of testing changes on a small-scale using Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles. The PDSA methodology includes a pre-intervention root cause analysis, data collection, and identification and selection of an intervention; followed by implementation of the intervention; post-intervention data collection; comparative evaluation of pre- and post-intervention data analysis of control charts; and exploring further interventions to continue the cycle of improvement.

Pre-intervention and post-intervention data collection were completed each day during the data collection period by one dental resident at Chesapeake Health Care Dental in Princess Anne, Maryland using a 30-day scheduling system as an intervention.

Results: The primary outcome of the study indicates that the total missed appointment rate has improved by applying the 30-day scheduling system. Pre-intervention TMAR for basic operative patients was 38% compared to 25% for post-intervention. The results of this study show that using a 30-day scheduling system reduces the number of missed appointments.

Conclusions: Applying a 30-day scheduling system has improved TMAR from 38% to 25% for children aged 0-17 with basic operative treatment.

Identify Supporting Agency and Grant Number: Funding by NYU Langone Hospitals, Hansjorg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery