Outpatient clinic waiting times and non-attendance as indicators of quality
Abstract
This paper examined outpatient waiting times, their association with perceptions of service quality and whether concern about waiting times influences attendance. A postal survey was conducted with two adult general hospital outpatient departments. Random samples of 500 outpatient attenders and 250 non-attenders were invited to take part in the survey one week following an outpatient clinic appointment. Patient waiting time for appointment: Median 28 days, range 0-336 days. Half of outpatients were seen within 60 minutes of clinic appointment (median time to consultation: 60 minutes (range = 0-270 minutes)). Most (64%) rated waiting times as unsatisfactory. The correlation between waiting time and overall satisfaction with treatment was low (r =- 0.11). The correlation between waiting times at the clinic and satisfaction with waiting times was moderate (r =- 0.55). The majority of non-attenders reported being unable (58%), rather than unwilling (13%), to attend appointments (main reasons: ill-health (21%) and employment disruption (17%)). Outpatient satisfaction with clinic treatment was not associated with waiting times. Over one-third of those who chose not to attend stayed away because they expected to have to wait for long periods. Lengthy waiting times in outpatient clinics remain a challenge to quality care.
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Long waiting periods increase patients' dissatisfaction with the healthcare system.
“Long waiting periods increase patients’ dissatisfaction with the healthcare system [13]”
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- Authors
- McCarthy, K., McGee, H. M., & O'Boyle, C. A.
- Affiliations
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (IE)
- ORCID
- McGee, H. M.
- Venue
- Psychology, Health & Medicine
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2000-08
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 287-293
- ISSN
- 1354-8506 (ISSN-L)
- 1465-3966
- OpenAlex
- W2025707524
- Cited by
- 135
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychology Health & Medicine (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient Satisfaction in Healthcare
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Emergency Medical Services › Healthcare Operations and Scheduling Optimization
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare Quality and Satisfaction
- Keywords
- outpatient waiting time, patient non-attendance, perceived service quality, patient satisfaction, appointment wait times, consultation time, reasons for non-attendance, quality of care
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