Abstract Details

Title Improving Patient Return to Residency Clinic using a Patient Portal: A Residency Quality Improvement Project

Topic Practice, Policy, and Ethics

Presentation(s) P5 - Poster Session 5 (5:30 PM-6:30 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 4-074

Objective To determine if personalized follow up emails to patients could decrease the "no show" rate in a neurology residency clinic.

Background Resident continuity clinic is an integral part of the education of neurology residents. At the UPMC neurology clinic, seventeen percent of patients do not come to their scheduled appointment, consistent with high rates of “no shows” in other studies. This negatively impacts resident education and continuity of care for patients.

Design/Methods Patients were recruited from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center neurology resident clinic. Patients were randomized based on access to the online patient portal. Patients in the intervention group received a secure, personalized follow up email 4-6 weeks after their initial neurology appointment. Outcome measures included the percentage of patients returning to clinic, patient compliance with medications and percent of patients obtaining requested testing. The chi-square method was used to analyze the data.

Results In the pilot data presented here, a total of 15 patients were recruited into each group. At the time of writing, a total of 5 patients in each group have had their scheduled follow up appointment. The “no show” rate was 60% for patients in the control group and 20% in the intervention group (p 0.197). Incomplete testing was 60% in the control group and 20% in the intervention group (p 0.49). Patient compliance with medications was 60% in the control and 80% in the intervention group (p 0.47).

Conclusions The results of this quality improvement project demonstrate that a personalized follow up email shows a trend to increase the rate of return to a neurology residency clinic. This project is ongoing, and with a larger sample size, is expected to show that improvement of communication with patients via a patient portal will increase return to clinic and improve patient experience.

Authors/Disclosures
Christina Catherine, MD PRESENTER	Dr. Catherine has nothing to disclose.
Ying Sun, MD	No disclosure on file
Janet F. Waters, MD, FAAN (University of Pittsburgh Physicians)	An immediate family member of Dr. Waters has received personal compensation for serving as an employee of Haemonetics. An immediate family member of Dr. Waters has received personal compensation for serving as an employee of Vitalant. An immediate family member of Dr. Waters has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Haemonetics. An immediate family member of Dr. Waters has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as a Consultant for Vitalant. An immediate family member of Dr. Waters has received personal compensation in the range of $10,000-$49,999 for serving as an officer or member of the Board of Directors for Vitalant. An immediate family member of Dr. Waters has received publishing royalties from a publication relating to health care.

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