Late Night Health

The healthcare industry is grappling with a significant financial burden attributed to an often overlooked challenge: patient no-shows. Surprisingly, statistics reveal that 25% to 30% of all medical appointments, 40% of Medicaid appointments, and 50% of primary care appointments end in no-shows.This issue translates to a staggering annual loss of $150 billion for the U.S. healthcare industry.Transportation barriers are a major factor contributing to missed medical appointments. Statistic show that transportation issues are cited as the reason for missing medical appointments 7% of the time, with seniors reporting this as the primary reason an overwhelming 65% of the time. A study published in the NIH National Library of Medicine has linked transportation barriers to a decline in continuity of care, reduced use of regular outpatient care, increased emergency department visits, and higher readmission rates, all of which contribute to elevated costs for individuals and third-party payers.Christopher Ochs, Chief