Even if you enjoy the most well run doctors office in the history of the world, there are still some patients that will miss their appointments without giving prior notice; patients you may never see again. The funny thing is that statistically most patients should not have to cancel their appointment at the last minute. Rather, their missed appointment is a mere failure to inform you of their prior plans. Consequently, their negligence damages your practice in ways they are ultimately ignorant of, effectively tying up your time and resources for absolutely nothing. Obviously this is something every practitioner would like to avoid, so here to help you out with that is a list pertaining to how you can adequately address the problem of no-shows.
Maintain Accurate Scheduling
Ensure that all your scheduling is accomplished in the most accurate and efficient manner possible. Take extra care not to double-book any patients in the same time slot. Doing so could anger them and potentially dissuade them from participating in your practice. After all, how would you feel if you had to spend more time than absolutely necessary in a waiting room due to poor scheduling?
Absence of Text Reminders
Offices that only use phone-based appointment reminders seem to forget that we are living in 2017. Let’s face it, modern technology combined with the expediency that’s expected in nearly every professional environment does not promote exclusive phone-based communication. As a result, if your practice still insists on sending phone reminders, you should make sure they are also sending text reminders. With the latter, patients are more likely to respond in a meaningful way rather than simply ignore the call and potentially forget their appointment.
Automate Calls
In line with the previous step, having your staff call every single patient to remind them of their appointment is simply a waste of time. Further, what happens if your staff is busy and accidentally misses a call? Is that something you want to risk? Instead, you should automate this practice so as to ensure that reminders actually reach your patients in a way that does not necessitate a callback. If they answer the phone then they will receive the information, if they do not answer then they will receive a voicemail providing the information, all from an automated system that takes up absolutely none of your employees’ time, enabling them to focus on other more pressing tasks.
Send Multiple Reminders
If you are only sending a single reminder per appointment then you are definitely doing it wrong. Try sending at least two reminders, one a week or so prior to the appointment and another either one or two days before the appointment. This should minimize the chances of a no-show occurring, as it will give customers ample time to inform you if they are going to miss their appointment, at which point you can assist them in rescheduling. From there, you can have another patient fill the empty time slot.
Do Not Be Hesitant to Provide a Notification for Missed Appointments
If your patient is a no-show, be sure to send them a message a day or so after they have missed their appointment informing them of just that. Doing so accomplishes two things: on the one hand, it tells them that you are a professional with a limited amount of time that they have just encroached on; two, it sends them the signal that if they wish to keep attending your practice, there is a certain level of respect that is required on their part. Additionally, making a list of every time you have to do this will help you identify any habitual no-shows, affording you the ability to deal with them accordingly. Further, you should also compile a list of patients who could potentially come into your office on short notice, as this will give you an opportunity to fill any vacant time slot that would otherwise result in a loss of revenue.
Do You Have a No-Show Policy?
If you do not have a strict no-show and late cancellation policy, now is the time to create one. Compile a list of rules and penalties for no-show patients as well as those who perpetrate late cancellations. Afterward, add the verbiage to your intake policy so it is one of the first things they are aware of when signing up for your practice. Potential penalties should definitely be monetary, as this will help you make up for revenue that would have otherwise been lost due to their negligence.
Making sure that your patients are aware of your policy prior to signing any terms of agreement or scheduling an appointment is a great preventative measure to minimize no-shows. This way patients will have no recourse if you charge them a fee to compensate for lost revenue and it will preemptively address any complaints, as the policy was firmly conveyed prior to them even agreeing to the practice’s terms. Additionally, this is an effective means of ensuring that patients have less incentive to miss their appointment in the first place.
Implement a Pre-Pay Policy
Having patients pre-pay before their next visit is a great way to prevent no-shows. Obviously this ultimately hinges on the specifics of your particular practice.
Another great way to accomplish the same thing is to make sure that the account is current before permitting further treatment. No matter how you decide to slice it, if you are able to implement either form of pre-pay policy then you should, as both will subsequently foster greater incentive for coherent communication between you and your patients, effectively cutting the total amount of no-shows you may experience per quarter in half or negating them entirely.
Learn the About Your Patient’s Mode of Transport
Knowing how your patients arrive at your office can help you and your team create a schedule that meets their specific needs, as well as provide any reminders prior to scheduling their next appointment. For example, if you know that they ride the bus then you may want to remind them to check the schedules before leaving for your office.
