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Exit interviews consisted of the interviewer: 1. Asking the patient if all their questions and concerns were addressed, if they understood the information received from their primary provider, and whether they agreed with the course of treatment. 2. Giving the patient written information regarding topics discussed, when appropriate. 3. Offering information and education on the following topics as outlined in the Patient Education Fact Sheet: Triage/urgent Care Transportation No-show and lateness policies Patient empowerment Residency Program Immunizations (when appropriate) 4. Responding to any further concerns the patient had. Students were supervised by Family Practice Center faculty or social workers. A formal training session was held at the beginning of each semester for students to optimize uniformity. Students were encouraged to keep the interview conversational and interactive and to have the patients repeat the no-show policy in their own words. The above interview content took about 10 minutes, longer if the patient had more questions, and interviews were most often held in the examination room. If the examination room was needed for another patient, the student escorted the patient to the patient education room and conducted the interview there. Characteristic Exit Interview Intervention (n = 121) Control (n = 224) P Value Age, mean (range) 16.0 (2 days–69 years) 21.2 (3 days–88 years) .01 Length of follow-up, mean (range) (days)* 311.8 (7–793) 347.8 (7–783) .18 Male (%) 40 41 .86 African American (%)† 45 39 .04 White (%)† 35 33 .04 Hispanic (%)† 12 9 .04 Commercial insurance (%) 29 34 .30 Residential ZIP code median income below $20,000 (%)‡ 45 43 .75 Age and follow-up were tested with Wilcoxon rank-sum test.
* Last visit date minus index visit date.
† P value derived from χ2 test of African American, white, Hispanic, and other/unknown by group.
‡ Based on median income within ZIP code areas from the 1990 US Census.
Odd Ratios (95% Confidence Interval) Factor Unadjusted Adjusted* Exit Interview Intervention 0.71 (0.51, 0.99) 0.71 (0.51, 0.97) Age <18 years 0.70 (0.53, 0.94) 0.60 (0.44, 0.82) Commercial insurance 0.57 (0.42, 0.78) 0.49 (0.35, 0.68) Residential ZIP code median income below $20,000 1.48 (1.10, 1.98) 1.46 (1.09, 1.95) * Adjusted for 3 other factors in the model and intrasubject variability.
