Patient Preference and Adherence (Jan 2016)

Factors contributing to nonadherence to follow-up appointments in a resident glaucoma clinic versus primary eye care clinic

  • Fudemberg SJ,
  • Lee B,
  • Waisbourd M,
  • Murphy RA,
  • Dai Y,
  • Leiby BE,
  • Hark LA

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2016, no. Issue 1
pp. 19 – 25

Abstract

Read online

Scott J Fudemberg,1 Brian Lee,1 Michael Waisbourd,1 Rachel A Murphy,1 Yang Dai,1 Benjamin E Leiby,2 Lisa A Hark1 1Glaucoma Research Center, Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, USA; 2Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA Purpose: To determine the rate of adherence to follow-up appointment recommendations in a resident glaucoma clinic with no mechanism for reminders, compared to a resident cataract and primary eye care (CPEC) clinic in which telephone reminders were used, and to identify factors that contribute to adherence in each patient group.Methods: This retrospective cohort study included subjects in the CPEC clinic who received telephone reminders and those in the glaucoma clinic who did not. Each sample was selected to have a similar proportion of follow-up recommendations for 1, 3, and 6 months. Subjects were considered adherent if they returned within a specified timeframe.Results: A total of 144 subjects from the glaucoma clinic and 151 subjects from the CPEC clinic were included. There was no significant difference between follow-up adherence rates of patients who received telephone reminders and those who did not (odds ratio [OR] =1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.79–2.32, P=0.28). Patients who were on more than two ocular medications were more likely to return for follow-up (OR=3.11, 95% CI 1.53–6.35, P=0.0018). Subjects between the ages 50 and 80 years were more likely to be adherent compared to their younger and older peers (P=0.02).Conclusion: The follow-up adherence of patients in a CPEC clinic who received telephone reminders was similar to patients in a glaucoma clinic who did not receive any intervention to increase their adherence. Younger (<50 years old) and elderly (>80 years old) subjects, as well as patients using less than two glaucoma medications, were less likely to adhere to their follow-up appointments.Keywords: glaucoma, retrospective studies, patient adherence, telephone reminders, age, medications

Keywords