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To the Editor.
—Goldman et al are to be commended on their extensive and well planned study of "no-show" patients' behavior in an outpatient setting, which was published in the March Archives (1982;142:563-567). We examined this problem in the primary care clinic at our university-based hospital and, although our no-show rate was higher (26.8% during the last six months), we reached similar conclusions.As part of our analysis, we also compiled data on individual physician's no-show rates. First-year level house staff had a mean rate of 29.1%, while the mean of the second-year level house staff was 24.1%, indicating a trend for higher level house staff to have lower no-show rates (χ2 analysis, df = 1; P <.10). Particularly striking was the wide rate variability within each group (interns, 21.5% to 40.3%; residents, 14.7% to 32.3%).We believe that those persons with higher rates could be induced to lower them.