Audit of Attendance for Scheduled Breast Imaging Examinations

TYY Wong, ALM Pang, WCW Chu, M Choi, WWM Lam

Hong Kong J Radiol 2003;6:78-80

Aim: Audit performed to ascertain the attendance rate and the reasons for non-attendance for scheduled breast imaging.

Patients and Methods: The number of defaulters scheduled for breast examinations during mid-May to mid-June 2002 was recorded. All defaulters were approached for a telephone interview to ask about the cause of non-attendance.

Results: 349 of 368 elective patients attended the breast imaging unit. The non-attendance rate was 5.2%. Nine of the 19 non-attending patients could not be contacted (47.4%). Young patients in the age range of 30 to 39 years were the most frequent defaulters (58%). The highest non-attendance rate was found on Monday and the lowest was on Thursday.

Conclusion: There was a high attendance rate for breast imaging examinations. Methods to further improve the attendance rate such as a reminder system may not be justified financially.