Age-friendly Primary Health Care Centres Toolkit - World Health ...

AGE-FRIENDLY PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTRES TOOLKITIII.3.4 Reminders and reinforcementsReminders from PHC staff have been shown to be an effective way of increasing thenumber of patients keeping their appointments. An effective system can ensure thatolder patients are contacted 1- 2 days ahead of their scheduled appointments.Details of an alternative person to contact should be obtained when the patient firstmakes an appointment – refer to section III.3.3. Patients should be asked whether theyprefer the PHC centre to get in touch with this alternative contact or not, for the purposesof appointment reminders.Reminder System1. Check the records for the appointments a few days ahead, allowing 2 to 3 days extraif reminders are being posted. All older persons can be identified from the list.2. Compile a list of all the patients identified, along with their contact details.3. Communications to patients can be performed at the end of each working day by thepreferred method e.g. post, telephone or e-mail.III.3.5 Before and after the appointmentWhen the patient arrives for their appointment:• Direct the patient to the reception desk.• Greet the patient.• Maintain a friendly approach and eye contact – this is associated with positivepatient experiences in health care.• Ask for the appointment card.• Confirm it is the correct patient (check address).• Make an acknowledgement of the patient's arrival in the PHC centre's systemrecords and on the patient's appointment card.• Give an estimate of the waiting time.• Ask the patient to take a seat in the waiting area.• Prepare the patient's notes for their consultation with the practitioner.When the patient finishes the consultation:• Thank them for attending.• The patient should be handed a slip by the practitioner with information onwhether they should book a further appointment or if they have been dischargeduntil further notice.• Refer the patient back to the reception desk.• The slip should be handed in there.• If a further appointment is required, start a new appointment and fill appointmentcard.• The slip should be kept in the patient's notes as a reference.88