Achieve 30% reduction in DNAs!!
24th April 2013
Each year, around 6 million healthcare appointments are wasted by patients who Do Not Attend (DNA) their appointments and fail to cancel in enough time. This is a major drain on the NHS and costs an estimated £700 – £800 million a year. DNAs have been reported by 84% of General Practitioners as a problem, leading to lengthened waiting times, difficulty in reaching performance targets, reduced patient satisfaction, greater costs and potential public health issues.
One way of reducing DNA rates is to involve patients actively in the appointment making process. Studies showed that when patients were asked to verbally repeat back the time and date of their appointment whilst on the phone there was a 6.7% reduction rate in DNAs.
DNA rates can also be reduced if patients write down their appointment details. Evidence shows that when patients write down their appointment details on an appointment card themselves, DNAs are reduced 18% compared to when a receptionist or nurse does it.
Messages on waiting room walls that decry high rates of DNA can lead to an increase in DNAs, because people see that a lot of people aren’t turning up to appointments. Instead, highlighting the large numbers of people that do turn up reduced DNAs by 30%