PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Have you ever forgotten you had a scheduled appointment at the 21st Medical Group? With the demands of work and family life, there are plenty of opportunities to let an appointment fall through the cracks of a busy schedule. You are not alone! Each year a high volume of scheduled patient appointments are missed. Although this may seem to have minimal impact to most people, the impact is very real. For every missed appointment, another patient is not afforded the opportunity to be seen.
The 21st MDG constantly works to increase access to timely care. In doing so, we rely on your support to ensure there are appointments available for everyone that needs them. A key to maintaining appointment availability is minimizing missed appointments or no-shows. The average no-show rate for the 21st MDG is 6.8%, and during fiscal year 2019 this totaled 5,100 missed appointments. With an average cost of $210 per appointment, this equates to a loss of over $1.07 million in clinical resources.
We understand people are busy and that schedules change. The good news is there are multiple ways to cancel an appointment if your availability changes or if an appointment becomes unnecessary. Tricare Online is available 24/7 and can be accessed from any device at www.tricareonline.com. The site allows you to change, reschedule, or cancel existing appointments, and it allows you to set reminders via text or email for future appointments. Lastly, the appointment line can be called at 719-524-CARE (2273) to cancel appointments ahead of time. You can make a significant difference by canceling an appointment with at least 24 hours’ notice; your next door neighbor or co-worker may be able to utilize it.
The 21st MDG has made it a priority to remain engaged with you through efforts such as the Patient Advisory Board, Joint Outpatient Experience Survey, and social media. We ask that you stay connected with us and to let us know if we are meeting your needs and how we can improve the services we provide. The 21st MDG is committed to delivering timely and quality care and we rely on your commitment to use a scheduled appointment, or to free it up to allow others to do so.