RESUMO
BACKGROUND.: Open-access booking (OAB) describes administrative changes to improve system efficiency. However, OAB studies have focused on GP practices and have not applied OAB to other health care services. PURPOSE.: The purpose of the study was to investigate the associations between OAB and administrative outcomes in the Saint John region. METHOD.: Evaluators compared three years of pre-OAB data against two years of post-OAB data using an interrupted-time series design (February 2014-January 2019). FINDINGS.: OAB was associated with a 12% jump in the likelihood of being discharged within three months even though clients received an equivalent level of service. OAB was not associated with more missed appointments (â¼8% vs. â¼7%). While OAB was not associated with reduced wait times, the post-OAB period handled a larger number of client referrals, which may explain the null finding. IMPLICATIONS.: OAB shows potential for improving administrative outcomes, but further research is needed.