Why did Patients Default Follow‐Up at Accident and Emergency Department and Ways to Reduce Default Rate? ‐ A Retrospective Study

The follow‐up clinic of the accident and emergency department is important in terms of risk management and quality assurance. Its purpose is defeated if patients do not return for the scheduled follow up. In this study, the reasons why some patients defaulted were investigated by telephone enquiry. It was found that about 30% of patients defaulted each day. Among those who could be contacted, almost one third said their illnesses have recovered or improved. A significant proportion of them suffered from sprains, minor burns or scald. The personal, familial or socio‐economic factors also prevented some of them from returning. There were patients who did not come back because they have been admitted to hospital before the appointment, suggesting that patients with certain conditions are not suitable candidates for follow‐up. The telephone enquiry of these defaulted patients provide a good opportunity for the patient to voice their views and opinions on the service they received and patient satisfaction can be enhanced by telephone enquiry. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations on service improvement has been proposed including a detailed study on the feasibility of the telephone follow‐up system, and rescheduling the time and date of follow‐up for the convenience of the patients.