Characteristics and outcomes of advanced cancer patients who miss outpatient supportive care consult appointments

Background: Missed appointments (MA) are frequent, but there are no studies on the effects of the first MA at supportive care outpatient clinics on clinical outcomes.

Methods: We determined the frequency of MA among all patients referred to our clinic from January–December 2011 and recorded the clinical and demographic data and outcomes of 218 MA patients and 217 consecutive patients who kept their first appointments (KA).

Results: Of 1,352 advanced-cancer patients referred to our clinic, 218 (16 %) had an MA. The MA patients’ median age was 57 years (interquartile range, 49–67). The mean time between referral and appointment was 7.4 days (range, 0–71) for KA patients vs. 9.1 days (range, 0–89) for MA patients (P = 0.006). Reasons for missing included admission to the hospital (17/218 [8 %]), death (4/218 [2 %]), appointments with primary oncologists (37/218 [18 %]), other appointments (19/218 [9 %]), visits to the emergency room (ER) (9/218 [9 %]), and unknown (111/218 [54 %]). MA patients visited the ER more at 2 weeks (16/214 [7 %] vs. 5/217 [2 %], P = 0.010) and 4 weeks (17/205 [8 %] vs. 8/217 [4 %], P = 0.060). Median-survival duration for MA patients was 177 days (range, 127–215) vs. 253 days (range, 192–347) for KA patients (P = 0.013). Multivariate analysis showed that MAs were associated with longer time between referral and scheduled appointment (odds ratio [OR], 1.026/day, P = 0.030), referral from targeted therapy services (OR, 2.177, P = 0.004), living in Texas/Louisiana regions (OR, 2.345, P = 0.002), having an advanced directive (OR, 0.154, P < 0.0001), and being referred for symptom control (OR, 0.024, P = 0.0003).

Conclusion: MA patients with advanced cancer have worse survival and increased ER utilization than KA patients. Patients at higher risk for MA should undergo more aggressive follow-up. More research is needed.