Impact of batch appointments on no‐show rates: a public vs private clinic perspective

Much of the appointment‐scheduling literature has characterized the impact of no‐show rates with respect to individual appointment requests. However, little is known about the impact of appointments that are grouped by household. This study is concerned with understanding the prevalence of these family group appointments and identifying the appointment characteristics that significantly influence no‐show rates. Using historical data from one public and one private pediatric clinic, multiway frequency analysis is used to characterize the association between appointment characteristics and appointment size. A logistic regression model is also developed to identify the factors that contribute to no‐show rates for both clinics. The results of the study indicate that more than one‐third of the appointments scheduled by both clinics were associated with batch appointment requests. In addition, no‐show rates for batch appointments in the public clinic were higher than those of the private clinic. We identify appointment size as a significant predictor in determining no‐show rates for both public and private clinics. Since no‐show rates adversely impact clinic efficiency, scheduling coordinators should consider the impact of grouping‐related appointments when determining how to best allocate resources.