The impact of COVID-19 telephone consultations on renal clinic non-attendance

摘要

Non-attendance accounts for 6.4% of all outpatient appointments. It is a significant financial burden to the NHS (circa ￡1 billion annually) and unfairly compromises vital services for other patients.1 The COVID-19 pandemic meant classical face-to-face consultations were unfavourable and alternative approaches were required. Given the ever-increasing demands on the NHS, the circumstances of the pandemic provided an opportunity to explore the impact of outpatient non-attendance via different consultation methods. We evaluated non-attendance rates between face to face clinic and telephone consultations in a nephrology clinic.