NURS 8502 Week 2 Discussion discuss gaps in practice
NURS 8502 Week 2 Discussion discuss gaps in practice
The facility provides outpatient psychiatric evaluations, diagnosis, consultations,
medication, management, and brief focused therapy service. No-show telepsychiatry
appointments are a healthcare challenge affecting institutions, nurses, and patients. In most cases,
patients miss appointments based on technical challenges, including the inability to use the
technology, lack of internet, and the lack of devices required for the appointments. Additionally,
patients report missing appointments because they can always schedule another appointment
without charges for the missed appointments; some patients do not consider these as real
appointments due to low uptake of telepsychiatry, others have no good reason, while others
forget because they do not have to visit the hospital in person.
Is this issue addressed in the literature?
Research has demonstrated an increase in no-show telepsychiatry appointments. A research study
to evaluate patient perspectives and behaviors toward virtual primary care appointment impact of
telehealth on patient satisfaction during the COVID-19 indicated that the no-show rate was 7.5%,
which is lower than the no-show rates for in-office visits of 36% (Drerup et al., 2021). However,
the telepsychiatry no-show rates continue to rise due to reduced patient satisfaction. Another
study established that despite the impact of technology in decreasing the no-show rates, digital
literacy for providers and patients is critical to the success of telepsychiatry (Muppavarapu et al.,
2022).
conditions, is less likely to miss telemedicine compared to the rest of the populations (Adepoju et
al., 2022). However, the missed appointment rates in this study still needed further attention.
Has management addressed this issue to date?
The management has addressed no-show appointments by upgrading the system to include
keeping a telehealth waitlist to fill in the missed appointment with the next patient on the waitlist
to avoid wasting the providers’ time, encouraging proactive scheduling, and using automated
appointment reminders through the patient’s phones and email.
References:
Adepoju, O. E., Chae, M., Liaw, W., Angelocci, T., Millard, P., & Matuk-Villazon, O. (2022).
Transition to telemedicine and its impact on missed appointments in community-based clinics.
Annals of Medicine, 54(1), 98–107.
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Drerup, B., Espenschied, J., Wiedemer, J., & Hamilton, L. (2021). Reduced No-Show Rates and
Sustained Patient Satisfaction of Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Https://Home.Liebertpub.Com/Tmj, 27(12), 1409–1415. https://doi.org/10.1089/TMJ.2021.0002
Muppavarapu, K., Saeed, S. A., Jones, K., Hurd, O., & Haley, V. (2022). Study of Impact of
Telehealth Use on Clinic “No Show” Rates at an Academic Practice. Psychiatric Quarterly,
93(2), 689–699. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11126-022-09983-6/FIGURES/3
