Abstract
Objective:
To determine the effect of a proactive telephone-based scheduling strategy to improve dental service utilization rate in primary healthcare.
Material and Methods:
A retrospective study was carried out based on the dental appointments’ records of a primary healthcare center before-strategy and after-strategy periods. The variables studied for both periods were the number of dental appointments requested, dental appointments undergone, no-shows, and available quotas. Data collection was performed by two researchers between May and June 2018. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate the absolute and relative frequencies.
Results:
A total of 10,193 records of dental appointments were registered within the two periods. After-strategy period, dental appointments undergone increased by 16,7%, no-shows decreased by 3%, and available quotas decreased by 21.3%.
Conclusion:
A proactive telephone-based scheduling strategy increased the dental service utilization rate in primary healthcare.
Keywords:
Dental Health Services; Public Health Administration; Public Health Dentistry
