Demographic and Clinical Factors Associated with Patient Adherence to Acupuncture Treatment

Objectives: Acupuncture uses needle stimulation upon the body's meridian points to alleviate physical and psychologic symptoms. In clinical practice, acupuncturists often recommend patients to attend follow-up treatment to achieve cumulative benefit over time. Adherence to acupuncture treatment was studied, and demographic and clinical factors were tested that may predict adherence. Design and subjects: A retrospective chart review at an acupuncture teaching clinic was conducted using data from 2014, where patients routinely received recommendations to return for follow-up visits to continue their management of the same health condition. A total of 131 patients were included with an initial consultation in this analysis (mean age = 43 ± 15, 40% male). Outcome measures: Rates of adherence to acupuncture follow-up treatment were determined by tracking whether patients had any subsequent follow-up visits in 30 days after their initial consultation. Demographic and clinical characteristics that differed between adherers (≥1 follow-up visit) and nonadherers (no follow-up visit) were then tested. Among the adherer sample, the authors tested whether these characteristics were associated with a higher number of follow-up visits was tested. Results: Half (50%) of the patient sample adhered to ≥1 follow-up visits in 30 days after their initial consultation. Patients reporting multiple chief complaints were more likely to have a follow-up visit than those with a single complaint (63% vs. 42%, p = 0.02). Receipt of a treatment plan (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 1.37, p = 0.02) and first follow-up visit within 7 days of initial treatment (IRR: 1.42, p = 0.01) were associated with a higher number of follow-up visits among adherers, after adjusting for covariates. The predicted number of follow-up visits for patients with a treatment plan was 2.5 (standard error [SE] = 0.3) and that for those without a treatment plan was 1.8 (SE = 0.2) among adherers. Conclusion: The rate of return to an acupuncture clinic for follow-up treatment was low (50%). Patient adherence to acupuncture follow-up treatments may be improved by clinical administrative protocols that formalize treatment plans and appointment scheduling.