NHS Tayside has taken action after more than 159,000 appointments were missed in 2015.
In all, 11.4% of scheduled appointments were recorded as “no shows” after patients failed to attend.
The cost of an appointment will vary depending on the type of outpatient clinic being accessed and the individual patient requirements, but NHS Scotland estimates that each missed appointment costs the NHS approximately £120.
As a result, the health board has moved to introduce a new automated patient reminder service to help reduce the number of missed outpatient appointments.
The new automated service will call patients to remind them of the date, time and venue of their outpatient appointment and give them the opportunity to cancel or reschedule if necessary. Patients should be aware that when a call is sent it will come from a 0800 number so if they receive one of these calls it may be in relation to an appointment.
Dr Gavin Main, associate medical director for access with NHS Tayside, said: “We would urge people to contact us as soon as possible if, for any reason, they are unable to attend hospital appointments or outpatient clinics. This allows us to reduce wasted appointments by giving someone else the original appointment.”
Reducing the Did Not Attend (DNA) rate is part of NHS Tayside’s new ‘Value Your NHS’ campaign, which encourages patients, carers, staff and the general public to make the best use of the services we provide to ensure we can continue to deliver person-centred, safe and effective treatment and care into the future.