Patient appointment failures in pediatric resident continuity clinics.

Objectives: To determine appointment failure rates in pediatric resident continuity clinics nationally, and to identify characteristics of clinics with respect to factors that may affect appointment failure rates.

Design: A one-page questionnaire administered via facsimile machine to pediatric residencies' continuity clinic directors.

Results: Of 200 continuity clinic directors, 160 (80%) returned the survey. The mean no-show percentage was 30.9%, with a range of 3% to 80%. Among the factors studied, only mode of payment emerged as an independent predictor.

Conclusions: Appointment failure is a substantial problem in pediatric resident continuity clinics, which needs attention if resident learning, patient care, and clinic efficiency are to be optimized.