ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Digit. Health
Sec. Health Technology Implementation
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2025.1567397
Efficient Patient Care in the Digital Age: Impact of Online Appointment Scheduling in a Medical Practice and a University Hospital on the "No-Show"-Rate
Provisionally accepted
Paola Kammrath Betancor1
Daniel Boehringer1Jens Jordan1,2Charlotte Lüchtenberg2Marcus Lambeck2
Manuel Christoph Ketterer3
Thomas Reinhard1
Michael Reich1,2*- 1Eye Center, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- 2Augenärzte am Städel, Hans-Thoma-Straße 24, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- 3Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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Background: Online appointment scheduling (OAS) increases patient satisfaction and enables more efficient care.Method: A retrospective study in an ophthalmology practice and an ophthalmology university hospital. Over 20 months, all booked practice-appointments before and after OAS implementation were recorded. Rates of cancellations/rescheduling and unexcused absences ("no-shows") were compared. During the same period, OAS usage, no-show rates, and related factors were analyzed in the hospital.Results: During the observation period, 16,894 appointments were booked in the practice and 81,173 in the hospital. In both, the rate of appointments scheduled via OAS increased continuously, with an average rate of 22.8% in the practice and 7.2% in the hospital. The no-show rate in the practice was lower for appointments booked online compared to those booked offline (median (x̄) 1.8% vs 5.9%, p<0.0001), whereas it was higher in the hospital (x̄ 14.3% vs. 11.2%, p<0.0001). Regular consultations and SMS reminders were most effective in reducing no-shows in the hospital (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.40 and OR 0.93). The implementation of OAS in the practice reduced the rates of unused appointments (x̄ 22.7% vs. 10.3%, p<0.0001) and never booked appointments (x̄ 8.6% vs. 1.6%, p<0.0001), thereby increasing the utilization of available appointments (p<0.0001).OAS improves flexibility and resource use in the practice. In the hospital, SMS reminders mostly reduce no-shows, prompting development of a comprehensive reminder model.
Keywords: Efficient Patient Care, Online appointment scheduling, Ophthalmology, Private Practice, University Hospital
Received: 27 Jan 2025; Accepted: 22 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kammrath Betancor, Boehringer, Jordan, Lüchtenberg, Lambeck, Ketterer, Reinhard and Reich. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Michael Reich, Eye Center, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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