Outpatient appointments in private practices in Tehran, Iran

outpatient services are an important part of health services. One important aspect of outpatient services is outpatient appointments. The study aimed to investigate the outpatient appointments and time management status in private practices.

This was a cross-sectional study that was conducted in Tehran in 2020.  Two hundred and eight practices were selected by using convenient sampling. Data was collected using a 50-items self-designed questionnaire. The validity and reliability of questionnaires were tested before data collection. SPSS software version 23 was used for data analyses.

More than half of the practices (56.3%) were specialists’ offices. In 85.6% of the practices patients were admitted on schedule. Data indicated that in most clinics scheduled patients were in priority for being visited by the physician (59.3%). Compared to younger physicians, the possibility of not using appointment systems was higher in older physicians and among physicians with higher working experiences (P value=0.01 and P value=0.039 respectively).

In general, the findings showed that the age and work experience of the physicians might play an important role in the use of queuing systems in medical practices. It seems that simplifying the appointment methods can be effective in increasing the use of appointment systems and improving the management of waiting time for outpatients in private practices. It is the responsibility of health system managers and experts to produce simple tools and methods without the need for sophisticated technology for this group of outpatient service providers.