Approximately 30% of people miss primary care appointments in the US, costing the healthcare system more than $150 billion a year. But this problem isn’t inherent to just the United States. Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United Kingdom also report high missed appointment rates, according to some studies.

So why do patients miss their appointments?

It’s often due to structural or organizational problems, such as a lack of transportation, difficult appointment systems, or inconvenient clinic working hours.

People who have health issues, or who take care of those who do, find it even more frustrating and burdensome to coordinate medical care, especially when faced with such issues. And, as the population ages, we’re more likely to be taking care of our elderly family members who need frequent doctor appointments for chronic diseases.

“My Grandmother Sarah can make it to her doctor visits without much assistance from the rest of the family. With our busy lives, it wouldn’t be easy for us to make the required accommodations for her frequent doctor appointments. Her appointments are during business hours in the week, which would make it difficult since we all work.

My friend’s grandmother isn’t so lucky. She’s got some heart problems and needs a lot of care from specialists, but can’t drive herself around. And my friend’s boss isn’t really happy with her taking off from work. So I can see why these figures for missed appointments can be so high.” — Rebecca, from Texas

Using the solutions offered by Solve Care’s Care.Wallet, we can significantly reduce missed appointments, and even cut the need for visits in the first place, by improving care coordination and disease management.

The Transportation Solution in Care.Wallet would make it simple for this grandmother to get to the doctor. Even family members and providers in a sponsored Care Network can pay for and coordinate rides. One of the beauties of the Solve.Care Platform is that everything is transparent and automatically synced, with no need for manual verification or phone calls.

When a ride to an appointment is scheduled through Care.Wallet, she would be notified with the vehicle and driver information and know exactly when the car will arrive. And so, too, would the providers, making it easier for them to keep on schedule and give grandmother the attention she deserves. Family members can also be notified of upcoming appointments and assured that their loved ones arrive safely and get the care they need.