Domiciliary clinics I: effects on non-attendance

Objective To compare the rate of non-attendance for new referrals to a hospital based clinic versus home assessment. Setting Two old age psychiatry services in an urban area. Method A four year prospective study comparing rates of non-attendance for new referrals to a hospital based clinic versus assessment at home in two parallel old age psychiatry services. Results The rate of non-attendance for new referrals seen at home was considerably lower (1.7%) than the hospital based clinic (21.2%). Conclusions Assessing new outpatient referrals to old age psychiatry services at home reduces non-attendance. This improves efficient use of medical time in a small geographical catchment area but may not apply to rural or larger areas. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.