Encouraging Patient-Doctor Visits
The Big Problem
Attending an annual check-up sounds easy enough—until it’s actually time to go. Maybe something’s been hurting, or hasn’t felt right for weeks. You think about calling, and almost do. Then your boss moves up a deadline, your kid’s teacher asks for a quick meeting, and your phone buzzes with reminders you didn’t set. The visit slips lower and lower down the to-do list, buried under what feels more urgent in the moment. Weeks turn into months. The intention stays, but action fades.
For some, the hesitation runs deeper. A rushed appointment that left questions hanging. A clinic that never felt welcoming. A past experience that chipped away at trust. In communities where medical systems have long missed the mark, skipping the visit can feel safer than showing up. Some people never book at all. Some try once and don’t return.
The consequences build quickly and dramatically: missed diagnoses, unmanaged conditions, and avoidable financial and societal costs that ripple through families and systems alike.
Behavioral science offers a way to interrupt that cycle. It studies how people decide in the moment, and how design can make follow-through feel easy instead of effortful. Better framing, timely cues, and small, well-placed design features can turn good intentions into actual visits. Sometimes, changing the context is all it takes to bring people back into care.
About the Author
Maryam Sorkhou
Maryam holds an Honours BSc in Psychology from the University of Toronto and is currently completing her PhD in Medical Science at the same institution. She studies how sex and gender interact with mental health and substance use, using neurobiological and behavioural approaches. Passionate about blending neuroscience, psychology, and public health, she works toward solutions that center marginalized populations and elevate voices that are often left out of mainstream science.
