Objective: To validate an appointment system which leads to a high compliance of people over 65 invited to attend an interview., Design: A descriptive observational study of a crossover type, between February and June 1990., Setting: Primary Care; community activity., Patients or Other Participants: A representative sample of the population over 65 registered at the Cuenca 1 Health Centre, selected by means of systematic sampling., Measurements and Main Results: Personal letters, signed by the patients' own doctor, to make the appointment. If they did not attend, a second appointment was made by 'phone when possible or by letter if not. The overall reply was 73.79% (221 after the first appointment call and 55 after the second). 8.29% did not wish to carry out the interview; 12.30% were not located; 3.48% were incapacitated and 2.14% had died or were no longer registered at the centre., Conclusions: The following all favour the level of response: the personalized invitation, signed by the patient's doctor, stating the day and time; carrying out the interview at their Health Centre or home; and making a second appointment where necessary. At the same time these measures contribute to bringing our records up-to-date.