Being able to schedule a same-day appointment with your doc sounds like a blessing, but researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine recently found that people with diabetes who did so fared worse than those who made appointments ahead of time. In a study of more than 4,000 men and women with type 2 diabetes, the researchers discovered that, after accounting for severity of diabetes and medication use, participants who went to open-access clinics that accept same-day appointments had higher blood pressure than those who visited clinics that scheduled appointments in advance. A1C and microalbumin were not checked as frequently for non-African-Americans in open-access clinics. Other measures of health—the number of hospitalizations or emergency department visits a person had, and cholesterol and A1C levels—didn’t significantly differ between the groups. According to the researchers, patients with chronic diseases may not get needed, timely care when they must remember to schedule a visit. A better solution: Book a follow-up appointment when you’re already at the office.
Source: Journal of General Internal Medicine, March 2009