REDUCEPATIENT NO-SHOWSAT YOUR MEDICAL PRACTICE

According to Elizabeth Woodcock, an

Atlanta-based healthcare consultant

and trainer, the average rate of patient

no-shows ranges from about 5-10%.

Here are 10 helpful tips from her book

Mastering Patient Flow to Improve

Efficiency and Earnings to help you reduce

patient no-shows for your medical practice.

1. Send Automated

Appointment Reminders

A lot of the time, patients simply forget about their upcoming appointments. Remind them via phone, text, email, and/or smartphone appointment reminders.

2. Create a No-Show

Policy

To avoid the possibility of no-shows completely, a no-show policy creates consequences for those who miss scheduled appointments. Explain the policy to your patients and have them sign a written form.

3. Schedule Appointments

Within a Reasonable Timeframe

Although this can be difficult, try to schedule the appointment as closely to the patient’s call as possible. The shorter the timeframe, the more likely they’ll remember the appointment.

4. Plan Ahead For No-Shows

It might benefit your medical practice to have a list of last-minute appointment requests on-hand. This maximizes the change that you might be able to quickly fill an empty slot in the event of a no-show patient.

5. Schedule Appointments

Accurately

Patients often base their satisfaction off of how closely their appointment runs on time. Be mindful of how closely you are scheduling appointments to avoid long waits.

6. Allow Patient to Pay For

Their Next Appointment

Ahead of Time

By letting patients prepay, they’re now more obligated not to miss or forget their upcoming appointment because their money is on the line.

7. Charge a No-Show

Fee

One option for your no-show policy could be to charge a no-show fee. You can give patients a few warnings or charge a nominal charge on their bill that will be removed if they do keep their appointment.

8. Discharge Repeat

Offenders

Consider letting patients go who frequently miss appointments.

9. Reward Your Patients

Who Show Up

Recognizing your patients with a small bonus for showing up to their appointments on time will give them an incentive to do it every time. You can do so by discounting their bills or holding a gift card drawing at the end of each month!

10. Simply Thank Your

Patients

Express appreciation to those patients who show up to their appointments and adhere to your no-show policy. It's the little things that have a big impact!

ClientTell can help your practice reduce its patient no-shows.

For more information, please visit ClientTell.net.