[gpt3]Summarize this content to 100 words:
April 11, 2025
1 min read
Key takeaways:
- Socioeconomic deprivation led to patients failing to attend a planned orthopedic appointment more frequently.
- Transportation difficulties were frequently cited as a barrier to attendance.
SAN DIEGO — Socioeconomic deprivation may influence a patient’s ability to attend planned orthopedic outpatient appointments, as well as their ability to access and engage with orthopedic care, according to results presented here.
“These health inequities are likely to compound poorer health outcomes,” Edward Hayter, MBBS, MRes, MRCS, T&O ST4 at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, told Healio about results presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting.
Hayter and colleagues retrospectively reviewed data from 18,033 patients who attended 58,396 outpatient appointments in a trauma and orthopedic surgery service line during a 1-year period.
Edward Hayter
Outcomes measured included a questionnaire sent out to patients who failed to attend a planned appointment asking for their reason for not attending, as well as a pair of patient satisfaction surveys regarding their ability to access and engage with orthopedic care.
Socioeconomic deprivation was calculated using demographic information that included data from the index of multiple deprivation.
According to Hayter, 2,060 patients (11.4%) missed at least one appointment. He said one-third of the patients who missed an appointment stated their reason for nonattendance was that “they did not think the appointment would be useful for them.”
In addition, Hayter said patients with socioeconomic deprivation more frequently failed to attend an appointment and more frequently cited transportation difficulties as a barrier to attendance.
Patients with socioeconomic deprivation also reported poorer patient satisfaction scores regarding their ability to access and engage with orthopedic care, according to Hayter.
“When planning and commissioning services, it is important to consider those patients who ‘do not attend’ and to actively remove barriers to access and engagement, such as transportation problems,” Hayter said. “Real patient and stakeholder involvement and consultation for any service change is important.”
For more information:
Edward Hayter, MBBS, MRes, MRCS, can be reached at edwardhayter@doctors.org.uk.
Sources/Disclosures
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Hayter E, et al. Paper 370. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting; March 10-14, 2025; San Diego.
Disclosures:
Hayter reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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