Reducing no-shows in outpatient forensic mental health care
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN28960722 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN28960722 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | DimenceGroep2024NoShow |
- Submission date
- 19/11/2024
- Registration date
- 04/12/2024
- Last edited
- 02/12/2024
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Ongoing
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
The issue of patient non-attendance or tardy cancellation of appointments is a prevalent challenge for healthcare facilities. These occurrences, commonly labeled as ‘no-shows’, have significant implications for financial costs, treatment progression, and patient waiting periods. This study aims to build a predictive model for no-show for patients in forensic mental health, to implement the model in clinical practice, and to determine if phone call reminders, for the group with a considerable predicted risk of no-show at the next appointment, lead to a reduction in no-show occurrences.
Who can participate?
All appointments for participants who received outpatient treatment at Transfore.
What does the study involve?
A no-show prediction model for outpatient forensic mental health care will be developed. This model will be implemented and tested in clinical practice using data. The six outpatient forensic locations of Transfore, part of the Dimence Groep, will be divided into two different groups. One group, consisting of two locations (Enschede and Zwolle), will implement the model and patients with a high risk of missing their appointment will receive a reminder phone call. These reminder calls are made two days in advance. In the other group, no information is shared about patients with a higher risk of no-show and no intervention is applied.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Participants may receive a reminder phone call with the opportunity to reschedule their appointment.
A possible risk is that the patient receives an unjustified reminder phone call.
Where is the study run from?
The Dimence Groep, Institute of Mental Health
When is the study starting?
September 2022 to December 2025. 14/09/2022 - Start date for building the predictive model. 25/11/2024 - Start date for testing the model in clinical practice.
Who is funding the study?
The Dimence Groep
Who is the main contact?
Erik de Groot, e.degroot@dimencegroep.nl
Contact information
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator
Nico Bolkesteinlaan 1
Deventer
7416 SB
Netherlands
| Phone | +31613708488 |
|---|---|
| e.degroot@dimencegroep.nl |
Study information
| Study design | Interventional sample study |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Non randomised study |
| Study setting(s) | Home, Medical and other records, Other therapist office, Telephone |
| Study type | Treatment |
| Participant information sheet | No participant information sheet available |
| Scientific title | Predictive modelling of no-show in outpatient forensic mental health care: a machine-learning approach. |
| Study acronym | REDUCING |
| Study objectives | Reminder phone calls to patients with a high predicted risk of no-show at their next appointment will significantly reduce the number of no-show occurrences in outpatient forensic mental health care. |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Approved 14/11/2024, Scientific Research Committee of Dimence (Burg. Roelenweg 9, Zwolle, 8021EV, Netherlands; +31 038 456 58 51; onderzoek@dimencegroep.nl), ref: CWO/EdG112024 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Preventing no-shows in patients in outpatient forensic mental health care. |
| Intervention | Patients whose appointments are recorded as not cancelled at the time of the calls and whose predicted risk of no-show is at least 0.50 receive a reminder phone call. These reminder calls are made two days in advance. Reminder calls scheduled on Saturday and Sunday are combined with those on Friday. A call script is developed to ensure uniformity in reminder phone calls. A successful phone call is defined as one in which the caller converses with the patient regarding the appointment with a maximum of two attempts. The outcomes related to the appointment reminder (i.e., whether the patient is reached, appointment cancellation or rescheduling, appointment attendance) are registered. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | Patient attendance at an appointment, defined as 1) attendance and 2) no-show (the patient not attending the appointment or the patient cancelling the appointment less than 24 hours before the appointment), measured using data collected in the clinic’s electronic health record system one day after the appointment |
| Secondary outcome measures | There are no secondary outcome measures |
| Overall study start date | 14/09/2022 |
| Completion date | 31/12/2025 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Patient |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 2858 appointments |
| Key inclusion criteria | All appointments for participants who received outpatient treatment at Transfore between the earlier mentioned period were included. |
| Key exclusion criteria | Exclusion criteria were appointments that were cancelled by the therapist or the patient more than 24 hours before the appointment and crisis appointments. |
| Date of first enrolment | 25/11/2024 |
| Date of final enrolment | 01/06/2025 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Netherlands
Study participating centre
Deventer
7416 SB
Netherlands
Sponsor information
Hospital/treatment centre
Nico Bolkesteinlaan 1
Deventer
7416SB
Netherlands
| Phone | +31570639600 |
|---|---|
| connected@dimencegroep.nl | |
| Website | https://www.dimencegroep.nl/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/010jxjq13 |
Funders
Funder type
Hospital/treatment centre
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 31/12/2026 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Not expected to be made available |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a peer-reviewed journal. |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not expected to be made available due to the current data policy of the study organisation. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protocol file | version 1.0 | 20/02/2024 | 22/11/2024 | No | No |
Additional files
Editorial Notes
02/12/2024: Scientific Research Committee of Dimence.
