Getting stood up is the worst. No one enjoys arriving at the restaurant just to receive a call from the date who can’t make it at the last minute. Essentially, patient no-shows are the physician’s equivalent to getting stood up. Except, instead of simply wasting time, no-shows cost your practice money.
Some estimate that patient no-shows cost individual physicians as much as $150,000 per year. Others put the total no-show cost for the U.S. healthcare system at more than $150 billion. Figures like this show why it’s essential to do all you can to reduce no-shows.
Keep in mind certain things you don’t want to do when trying to decrease patient no-shows. Going about it the wrong way can waste time or, even worse, damage relationships with your patients.
Don’t …
Disregard patient convenience: Start by asking patients when they would like to come in, rather than assigning the first available slot. Many patients now book the appointments most convenient to them online through websites or mobile apps.
Allow long appointment delays: Sometimes there’s little choice based on the patient or practice schedule, but increasing the time between appointment setting and date increases the chance of no-shows.
Rely only on reminder phone calls: Nowadays, many patients choose text and/or e-mail reminders. A good practice management system automatically uses their preferred methods.
Send reminders using every method imaginable: Don’t bombard them. Ask patients how they want to be contacted, and use only those methods.
Waste money on postcard appointment reminders: A University of Kansas study found that these snail mail reminders do little to improve patient appointment-keeping behavior.
Overbook appointments: Patients sometimes see long office wait times as a sign of disrespect, which can cause future no-shows.
Use a flimsy no-show policy: Document and display your no-show policy in a place highly visible to patients. Emphasize the consequences of not showing up for appointments and cut wiggle room for those chronic no-showers.
Go crazy with no-show fees: Allow patients a couple of warnings before charging a fee. Also, don’t make the fee exorbitant. It’s a good way to send patients to the closest competitor.
Take transportation for granted: If any of your patients use public transportation, don’t schedule appointments when the route to your practice isn’t running. That’s basically asking for no-shows.
Follow-up without a purpose: When asking patients why they missed their appointments, document the reasons. This approach allows you to spot general no-show trends that you might be able to fix.
Fail to show appreciation to ‘do-shows’: For those patients who do show up as scheduled, let them know how much you appreciate it. This encourages them to continue arriving on time.
Although challenging at times, doing whatever you can to decrease patient no-shows can pay off in the long run for your practice.
