Introduction:

The scientific information published about the prevalence, characteristics, and motives of patients who miss general practice appointments is rare in Portugal and Europe.

Objectives:

Investigate the reasons for missing general practice appointments in three primary care health centers according to sex, age, Graffar’s index, the time elapsed since scheduling the appointment, and appointment time slot.

Methods:

After positive feedback from the Ethics Committee, a cross-sectional study was carried out in Central Portugal. The data from patients who missed appointments between May and July 2022 was collected anonymously through a telephone interview carried out by a general practice resident in August. After a brief introduction, guaranteeing anonymity and consent, patients were asked to answer how long ago the appointment had been scheduled and the reasons for missing it.

Results:

From May up to July of 2022, 617 patients missed appointments and were contacted, of which only 455 (73.7%) responded. The most frequent reasons for missing appointments were forgetfulness (27.6%), lack of transportation, problems already solved (8.9% for each), and thinking that the problem no longer needed an appointment (8.1%). Significant statistical differences existed between the context variables and how long they scheduled the appointment. There was no statistically significant association with sex (p=0.721), age (p=0.765), Graffar’s index (p=0.084), and appointment time slot (p=0.084). 42,8% reported other reasons, without a significant statistical difference between context variables.

Discussion:

To understand the reasons for missed appointments we need to know the patient's motives to implement reforms and improve attendance.

Conclusions:

Forgetfulness, lack of transportation, and the problems already solved were the most frequent reasons for missed appointments in this population.

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