Why patients miss follow-up appointments

The problem

Clinics reported that nearly one in five follow-up appointments was missed. The assumption inside the company was that patients were forgetful, and the proposed fix was more reminders.

What needed to be done

Find out why patients really miss follow-ups, and what the product could do about it before another notification feature was built.

How the right problem was found

I interviewed 28 patients and 9 clinic staff and mapped the whole journey from the end of the first visit. Patients rarely forgot: they were confused about whether a follow-up was needed, could not rearrange work or childcare, and did not know that rescheduling was free. Reminders would have repeated the same unclear message more often.

The outcome, measured

The team dropped the reminder-frequency project and built a clear "why this visit matters" message with one-tap rescheduling instead.

37

Interviews

19% → 12%

Missed follow-ups after the change

10-minute read

Time to share findings with the team

Skills and tools