Do you forget appointments?

[73349]

It seems like every doctor and dentist we see is terrified that we're going to forget an appointment and not show up. We're getting post cards, automated phone calls, live phone calls--sometimes two or more about the same appointment, and even if I literally made the appointment the day before the reminder call.

 

Most of our appointments are made when leaving the previous one, so they gave us a card with the date and time on it to begin with.

 

Are patients really missing that many appointments, or are these people paranoid and/or operating on very slim margins?

 

[rebcoola]

I've missed a couple.  I've learned I can't have them to super early in the morning because I might snooze through them.  

[Callie]

No.

[scholastica]

I've wondered the same thing. Are large numbers of people just not showing up? The dentists are the most insistent. Texts, phone calls, emails. My dh got 4 reminders for his dentist appointment this morning.

 

ETA: No. We don't miss appointments. That's why God created calendars.

Edited August 25, 2017 by scholastica

[JenneinCA]

I don't forget them, but I do put them in my calendar immediately and I do appreciate the reminders. Email and phone and text.

[happypamama]

No, because I put them in my phone's calendar, so I get a pop-up 24 hours and 2 hours in advance. Our places only do one form of reminder; the doctor's office calls, the eye doctor's office calls, and the dentist texts. I think one reminder is reasonable, especially if you made the appointment six or twelve months in advance, especially for a long term follow-up or routine checkup (as opposed to an acute issue that may have multiple appointments close together) because your schedule well could have changed.

[JustEm]

Yes, a lot sometimes. I really don't mean to but there is something about Drs appointments that do not stick in my head. I have to write them on my hand the night before one or else I'll likely forget

[bettyandbob]

I use my phone calendar. I don't forget, but I think other people do.

[regentrude]

I have never forgotten an appointment. I write it in my paper calendar.

But I 'm sure plenty of people do, otehrwise offices would not make such an effort reminding people.

[alisoncooks]

We don't forget. I write it on my paper calendar.

But yep: card reminders, phone calls, emails, texts. Especially those texts with "reply C to confirm." Well, darn, I thought I confirmed when I made the appointment.

[Tap]

I forget  2 or 3 a year.  That being said....we had over 200 appointments last year. LOL  Dd10 has BT and OT weekly.  DD18 has Chiro weekly, sometimes PT weekly, and 32-40 IV appointments (she now does daily home infusion).  Add to that dentists, eyes, general shots, physicals, sports physicals, illnesses etc.

 

The one I am most likely to forget is dd10s OT.  It used to be at 430 on Mondays. I would be home getting dinner and she would be outside playing.  It was on the calendar, but we would still forget sometimes. Phone reminders help but unless I am in the same room as my phone, I don't always hear them.

[AmandaVT]

It seems like every doctor and dentist we see is terrified that we're going to forget an appointment and not show up. We're getting post cards, automated phone calls, live phone calls--sometimes two or more about the same appointment, and even if I literally made the appointment the day before the reminder call.

 

Most of our appointments are made when leaving the previous one, so they gave us a card with the date and time on it to begin with.

 

Are patients really missing that many appointments, or are these people paranoid and/or operating on very slim margins?

 

People forget all the time. I do the billing for a therapy office and you wouldn't believe the number of people who just don't show for an appointment. I just checked today's calendar - 5 out of 28 people didn't show up. Everyone receives a text reminder 24 hrs before the appointment. We are not contractually allowed to bill clients for missing appointments if they have certain insurances, so the clinician loses money when people miss. It's also a scheduling hassle and our clinicians all have wait lists so that missed slot could have been filled by someone in need if the no show just had the courtesy to call ahead of time.

 

It's really bad at certain times of the year - right now, end of summer is bad. People are getting in their final summer fun and forgetting to come to their appointments. Holidays and school vacations are also bad. 

[QueenCat]

Nope, never. It goes on my calendar as the appt is made. Paper calendar in years past. Phone calendar now.

[Petrichor]

I've never forgotten and missed one. 

 

I have forgotten and not realized an appointment was *tomorrow*, even though I had it in my calendar. Then the dentist called. And texted. And maybe emailed.  :laugh:

[Garga]

The only appointment I ever missed was a dental appointment for the boys on Jan 13, 2015. It was such a rare event that I blogged about it.

 

https://dustylizard.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/dirty-teeth-hell-is-cold-and-kittens/

Edited August 25, 2017 by Garga

[dirty ethel rackham]

I don't forget them, but I do put them in my calendar immediately and I do appreciate the reminders. Email and phone and text.

This.  Sometimes, when I make the appointment, I don't realize that I've put in AM instead of PM or vise versa, which means it doesn't show up on my phone unless I scroll to 2AM, which I never do.  I appreciate the confirmation.  Also, for many things, I may have made a routine appointment as I was leaving from the previous one just to get it on the calendar.  Getting a phone call reminds me to make sure that I don't have any conflicts that came up and to change the appointment if the time no longer works.  This happens a lot with dentist appointments (every 6 months) and hair appointments (every 6 weeks.) 

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

These days I do forget, I never used to. So I do appreciate the kazillion reminders. 

[Megbo]

I once missed an appointment at the student health clinic when I was a freshman in college. I scheduled it for a Thursday, the one day I didn't have any classes. When Thursday rolled around, I was so used to not having any commitments on Thursdays that I didn't check my calendar and completely forgot about it. 

 

Since then, I've never missed an appointment. I do appreciate the reminder phone calls and e-mails though. There have been a couple times when I hadn't gotten around to canceling an appointment, and the reminders reminded me to cancel. 

[Bluegoat]

Occasionally.  Not usually for the doctor, for some reason it tends to be the dentist.

 

I always put them on the calendar, but if I miss, for some reason that doesn't matter.  Maybe it is because we only go to the doctor if there is someone who needs something, not for routine visits?  

 

I had rather a bad year this year, I missed the yearly orthodontist appointments for both my girls, at separate times.  After missing the first one, I was especially careful about the second - I made a special note the day before to remember to go - I still totally forgot.

[heartlikealion]

I lose appt. cards or forget to write things down sometimes or misplace items. I currently do not know where my mini planner is. It has two appointments in it. I usually put appointments in two locations, but I took down the hall calendar for something and now it's not written down there.

 

I don't usually miss appointments, but I have screwed up before. The worst for me is Monday appointments because some places do not call and remind you on Friday.

 

Dh told me to download an app. We're trying to share our calendars again. But the password he gave me didn't work. Once I get that set up I will start putting appointments in the phone as well as another location.

 

I'm pretty sure one time I missed an appointment and the office called me because it was so unlike me to just not show up. It was probably the ob/gyn office and I don't remember if it was during a pregnancy or not.

[Amy in NH]

One reminder would be fine, but I don't need 3-5 for every appointment. I don't schedule appointments unless I am at home in front of my paper calendar, and I write it on the calendar while I'm on the phone and verbally confirm the date and time before I hang up. I don't miss appointments.

[AnnE-girl]

I don't think I've actually missed an appointment, but I think I've remembered several as I got the reminder text or call.

[JessReplanted]

I don't usually forget. These days everything immediately goes into the calendar on my phone.

 

But yes, it's part of our culture. I send out a confirmation text whenever I'm getting together with people. It's necessary.

[Janeway]

I generally miss when I do not get a reminder call. LOL, I probably just will miss if I don't get a reminder call because I've gotten so used to the reminder calls. Before this, I never missed regardless.

[Arctic Bunny]

I book my physical at the doctor's office. Got all ready for it. Showed up half an hour early. Checked in. Found out that they forgot to call me to tell me they changed it to a week later. But upon checking, they hadn't called. Or rescheduled. But they thought they could just fit me in if I didn't mind waiting an hour? Sure, no problem, I guess. I have nothing else to do, and brought my book, so I just decide to sit and read. Two minutes later, the doctor calls me in. So now I'm actually in 25 minutes *before* I thought. He looks at my file and thanks me profusely for coming early....

So I'm wondering: Should I give *them* a reminder call next time?

[AimeeM]

All the time (I forget appointments)... but now I take medication for that, lol.

 

No, seriously, even before I knew I was ADHD, I have always, always been scatterbrained and forgetful. My life consists of writing things in planners, forgetting to check the planners, etc. 

 

It was endearing and cute (according to DH)... not so much to me once I had three SN kiddos with various appointments, and I began forgetting things like a kid's cardiology or pulmonology appointment. <---- way not cool. 

 

They give me appointment cards, but then I stick it in my wallet, forget to take it out when I get home, and so on and so forth. I understand the reminders from the doctors, too, as many of them have people on cancellation lists who would love to have a shot at someone else's cancelled appointment, but can't when it's simply a no-show.

[Laura Corin]

No. I get automated texts from my doctor and dentist, which is fine, but it's rare that I need the reminder. When I book a doctor's appointment online, I choose to have it put automatically into the family Google calendar.

[SporkUK]

Doctors, not particularly but I only tend to get one when I need one asap. When I had a lot more appointments occasionally one would slip through no matter the calendars and whatnot. 

 

Dentists, sometimes - we've had a whole issue of them canceling at the last minute and moving our appointments around on us that it became a mess for a time. We're still working on dealing with this, hopefully by finding a better one soon. 

[Carrie12345]

I consider myself pretty good at tracking appointments/schedules but, yeah, I've missed a couple here and there.

 

My most recent flub was for a meeting that I had written in my planner as Friday, but my brain registered it as Thursday ALL WEEK.  I was preparing to head out Thursday morning when I finally figured out my mistake.

 

I also got myself and the kids ready to go an hour earlier than we needed to the week before that, even though my brain WAS telling me the right meeting time. 

 

I lucked out on messing up beforehand instead of after, but I've definitely had my "oh, no" moments in the past.

[Word Nerd]

No, but I appreciate the reminders.

[regentrude]

People forget all the time. I do the billing for a therapy office and you wouldn't believe the number of people who just don't show for an appointment. I just checked today's calendar - 5 out of 28 people didn't show up. Everyone receives a text reminder 24 hrs before the appointment. We are not contractually allowed to bill clients for missing appointments if they have certain insurances, so the clinician loses money when people miss. It's also a scheduling hassle and our clinicians all have wait lists so that missed slot could have been filled by someone in need if the no show just had the courtesy to call ahead of time.

 

It's really bad at certain times of the year - right now, end of summer is bad. People are getting in their final summer fun and forgetting to come to their appointments. Holidays and school vacations are also bad. 

 

From your experience, how much of the no shows are actually forgetting? I would imagine some people remember perfectly well - especially since they get reminder cards and calls - but simply don't feel like showing up.

Edited August 25, 2017 by regentrude

[wendyroo]

No, never.

 

I have only ever had one appointment mix-up.  I knew I had made an early morning psychiatrist appointment for DS1, but for some reason in my head (and on my calendar) I was sure it was the 7:15 slot.  I got us there with plenty of time to spare, only to learn that our appointment wasn't until 7:45.  No harm done.  I actually suspect that it was a miscommunication about the "appointment time" versus the time they tell us to get there.  Nowadays, more and more offices are just telling us to get there at X time without clarifying that our appointment isn't really until X:15.

 

Wendy

[Insertcreativenamehere]

I missed my daughter's well child visit last year. I made the appointment while we were traveling in a different time zone. Entered it into my calendar, not realizing that when I put it on my calendar for 11 AM when I was in Mountain Time, it would automatically adjust to noon Central Time upon our return home. We showed up an hour late. 

[creekland]

I've forgotten one dentist appt once.  Everyone had something they were going to/doing that day so I got everyone else ready and off, then forgot my own appt.  The interesting thing was I knew I had to be doing something too, but couldn't remember what it was, so just figured I must be overreacting to having to get everyone else going.  I felt awful when the dentist office called asking me where I was.  They were super nice about it though and rescheduled.

 

I appreciate the reminders.  Can't hurt.  Might help.  The older I get, the more I need reminders TBH.

[desertstrawberry5]

All the time (I forget appointments)... but now I take medication for that, lol.

 

No, seriously, even before I knew I was ADHD, I have always, always been scatterbrained and forgetful. My life consists of writing things in planners, forgetting to check the planners, etc. 

 

It was endearing and cute (according to DH)... not so much to me once I had three SN kiddos with various appointments, and I began forgetting things like a kid's cardiology or pulmonology appointment. <---- way not cool. 

 

They give me appointment cards, but then I stick it in my wallet, forget to take it out when I get home, and so on and so forth. I understand the reminders from the doctors, too, as many of them have people on cancellation lists who would love to have a shot at someone else's cancelled appointment, but can't when it's simply a no-show.

 

All of this except the medication. I have never been diagnosed with ADD but I have my suspicions. I don't miss my kids' specialist appointments, because I have anxiety over it, and check and check and recheck and lie awake the night before. But last month I scheduled my own appointment in the morning, followed by Jay's specialist in the afternoon. Completely forgot my own until I was on the freeway going to his. 

 

I have a planner (several) and a huge wall calendar. My kids are getting better at checking because I am so terrible about it. It's maybe my worst flaw.  :sad: I also have no concept of time, so I'm often late or super early. I'm better when things are close, but not always. If I have to account for traffic, I'm screwed. 

 

Luna's therapist has been trying to work with a family for months. she has to drive 2 hours to get there, and they NEVER show up. At their own house! She has gone in the evenings and on weekends. They are NEVER there. That baffles me. 

[Soror]

I used to never forget, I didn't have to even write them down. Then my brain stopped working as well and life got busier, in the interim I've had to develop strategies to compensate for what my brain can't keep track of. I'm ashamed to admit I missed one this spring, it reflected horribly on me but once it was done there was nothing I could do but grovel(I think I posted about it on here). I had put it in my phone but hadn't adjusted reminders so it didn't send it out until 10 min before, which does me no good living 20 minutes away.

[fralala]

No, I am the kind of person who has nightmares about missing appointments... Wait a second. A haunting memory is coming back to me: showing up once at the doctor's and having them tell me a child's appointment was actually the day before and I'd missed it. I still cannot accept that this might have been my mistake, but now I call that office to confirm all appointments just in case of miscommunication.

 

I started receiving reminder calls about the kids' next dental appointment three weeks in advance. It coincides with the first day of school in our county and the very kind people who work there think they've caught a scheduling mistake on my part. Luckily we got that cleared up and the office should be nice and quiet that morning!

 

(Edited for mistake that I cannot blame on anyone else! You know, the kind that makes me think that the doctor thing was totally my fault. Rats.)

Edited August 25, 2017 by fralala

[ErinE]

You can ask the office to send a reminder through one route: email, phone, or text.

 

I have missed appointments mainly because google keeps resetting my calendar to East coast time which throws off my appointments. I have an east coast number, but I don't live in that time zone anymore so it's frustrating when everything gets wonky. I have to double-check my time zone when setting the appointment and check near daily that google hasn't reset the online calendar. I add appointments to my calendar right away so it isn't that I'm not tracking them. I appreciate one reminder to help confirm my appointment time is correct.

 

I get a little anxiety now when an office doesn't send a reminder, because I'm certain something has gone wrong with my calendar.

[EmseB]

Sometimes I have some glitch in my brain where I know that I have such-and-such at 2 p.m. on Mondays and I've written it down on the calendar, but somewhere my brain misses that it is Monday and 2 p.m. will come around at its usual time. Oddly, it happens more with recurring things like lessons rather than out of the ordinary appointments.

[G5052]

I can't think of the last one I've missed. DS missed one when DH was in ICU, and they were very understanding.

 

I have a personal calendar and put all the cards on a bulletin board everyone can check.

[KrissiK]

No, but I am glad I get those reminders. I tape the little appointment card to my calendar for the appropriate month. That's not only to remind me, but once there was a dispute with the dentist and it's nice to have proof that I came at the time they wrote down on my card, even if they wrote down something different on their end.

[Bluegoat]

I consider myself pretty good at tracking appointments/schedules but, yeah, I've missed a couple here and there.

 

My most recent flub was for a meeting that I had written in my planner as Friday, but my brain registered it as Thursday ALL WEEK.  I was preparing to head out Thursday morning when I finally figured out my mistake.

 

I also got myself and the kids ready to go an hour earlier than we needed to the week before that, even though my brain WAS telling me the right meeting time. 

 

I lucked out on messing up beforehand instead of after, but I've definitely had my "oh, no" moments in the past.

 

This is the kind of thing that happens to me - its in my brain the wrong way, and often nothing seems to be able to penetrate that brain fog.

 

I find it funny so many people say they don't forget because they put it on a calendar - that doesn't help if you are on the wrong day yourself, or the wrong week.

[73349]

This is the kind of thing that happens to me - its in my brain the wrong way, and often nothing seems to be able to penetrate that brain fog.

 

I find it funny so many people say they don't forget because they put it on a calendar - that doesn't help if you are on the wrong day yourself, or the wrong week.

 

I cross off the days on my jumbo-sized wall calendar in the kitchen. We have something scheduled at least every couple of days, so I can't get far off.

 

I can't do paper planners; I never wind up opening them, and I can even misplace the whole thing. But the wall calendar gets looked at every day. My phone works as a back-up, but the rest of the family doesn't see that.

[Bluegoat]

I cross off the days on my jumbo-sized wall calendar in the kitchen. We have something scheduled at least every couple of days, so I can't get far off.

 

I can't do paper planners; I never wind up opening them, and I can even misplace the whole thing. But the wall calendar gets looked at every day. My phone works as a back-up, but the rest of the family doesn't see that.

 

I find that kid of thing helpful, but even then it isn't perfect - I have actually realized I had an appointment in the morning, and within an hour thought it is a different day or something.

[wintermom]

I don't miss very often, but it has happened. It's usually the dentist.  I really appreciate the reminders. ;)

[kiana]

I really like the reminders. I've gotten calls before asking where I was, once for a scheduled filling. 

[TheReader]

I do not miss them, and don't mind ONE reminder, but I get annoyed when I get email, text, phone call, etc. Especially when I get the email thing that makes me have to click to confirm, and I do that, and then *still* get the phone call &/or text the next day. Extra especially when we have zero history of missed appointments with that provider, and have been with them long enough for them to know this about us. 

 

 

[AmandaVT]

From your experience, how much of the no shows are actually forgetting? I would imagine some people remember perfectly well - especially since they get reminder cards and calls - but simply don't feel like showing up.

 

There's a mix for sure. I would say 80% are forgetting and 20% either don't feel like showing up or had something "more important" to do and didn't bother calling. 

 

This past couple of weeks, looking at the calendar notes - someone decided to go on a last minute camping trip and forgot to call us. Quite a few people overslept, had car problems, had childcare issues, forgot because their kid was at summer camp, went out to lunch on their lunch break and forgot their appointment. 

 

The people who didn't feel like coming or didn't explain after the fact tend to be new clients or clients on their second visit. Once they come a couple of times, they want to come. People coming for DCF, probation and parole or addiction counseling are less reliable than people coming because they initiate it. 

[Zinnia]

I am amazed at all the people for whom this isn't a struggle. :D

[marbel]

I have forgotten a few times.  I also appreciate the reminders, even though I put things on my calendar and set reminders, etc.    Among the annoyances that come my way on a daily basis, appointment reminders are pretty far down the list.