Researchers at the Penn State Eye Center found that 16.4% of people who made initial appointments with the ophthalmology department in 2019 failed to keep them. A multiple logistic regression model was used to assess the association between characteristics and no-show status.

The researchers found that the highest percentage of no shows was associated with younger age, certain minorities, lower median income (by ZIP code), Medicaid or no insurance, longer waits for appointments, longer commute distances, morning and winter appointments, and seeing a glaucoma or retina specialist.

The researchers, who reported their findings in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, determined that certain patient and appointment characteristics were associated with no-show status. These findings may assist in the development of targeted interventions at the patient, practice, and health-system levels to improve appointment attendance.