Implementing a Successful Cancellation Policy That Lowers No-Shows
Posted: Wednesday, March 11, 2009
by T. Atanasov
Last minute cancellations and no-shows are very
disruptive for a medical practice. Most patients have experienced how
busy a medical office can be and assume that being a no-show is not a
problem. It appears the practice can easily reschedule another patient
in their spot. They fail to realize that their time slot is reserved
for them, and practices usually do not overbook. In addition, a private
practice's income is directly linked to how many patients a provider
sees in a day. Insurance companies do not pay for missed appointments,
and it is easy to see why no-shows are one of the most costly and
stressful issues for a medical practice.
One of the best ways to
ensure that patients attend their appointments is to implement a
cancellation policy and use multiple reminders to make sure patients
arrive on time or cancel well in advance. Even though some
cancellations are inevitable, the majority of no-shows result from
patients forgetting their appointments or having a conflict in their
schedule.
In order to have a successful cancellation policy, a practice should create a clear cancellation message. For example: "In order to serve our patients better, we have instituted a cancellation policy. If you cannot make it to your appointment please contact us 24 hours in advance to cancel your appointment. If you do not cancel 24 hours in advance you will be charged a no-show fee of $50". Once a cancellation message is created it should be included into your patient forms. In addition, you should explain the policy when scheduling an appointment and make sure that patients read the policy by referring to it when they return their patient forms. Also, train your staff to educate patients at multiple points during their initial visit. The more the policy is repeated to patients the better.
The second step in successfully reducing no-shows and last minute cancellations is calling your patients in advance and reminding them of their appointments. The number one reason for patient no-shows is forgetting the appointment. The most efficient and cost effective way to make reminder calls is to use a web-based service that can make automated appointment reminder calls for you. The service should allow you to customize your script by adding your cancellation message and the phone number of your practice. The reminder service should also allow patients to confirm or cancel their appointments over the phone. If your practice reminds patients two days in advance of their appointment, you can view your call reports and have a extra day to fill-in the canceled appointments.
For the patients that are still no-shows, your front office staff should follow up with them, determine the reason for the no-show and enforce the no-show policy. By tracking the reasons patients give for missing an appointment, patterns will emerge that will allow you to make adjustments to your policy and reminder messages.
Implementing and enforcing a clear cancellation policy is very important and will have a tremendous impact on your no-shows and last minute cancellations. Training your staff, educating your patients, and utilizing an appointment reminder service are the best ways to improve efficiency.
In order to have a successful cancellation policy, a practice should create a clear cancellation message. For example: "In order to serve our patients better, we have instituted a cancellation policy. If you cannot make it to your appointment please contact us 24 hours in advance to cancel your appointment. If you do not cancel 24 hours in advance you will be charged a no-show fee of $50". Once a cancellation message is created it should be included into your patient forms. In addition, you should explain the policy when scheduling an appointment and make sure that patients read the policy by referring to it when they return their patient forms. Also, train your staff to educate patients at multiple points during their initial visit. The more the policy is repeated to patients the better.
The second step in successfully reducing no-shows and last minute cancellations is calling your patients in advance and reminding them of their appointments. The number one reason for patient no-shows is forgetting the appointment. The most efficient and cost effective way to make reminder calls is to use a web-based service that can make automated appointment reminder calls for you. The service should allow you to customize your script by adding your cancellation message and the phone number of your practice. The reminder service should also allow patients to confirm or cancel their appointments over the phone. If your practice reminds patients two days in advance of their appointment, you can view your call reports and have a extra day to fill-in the canceled appointments.
For the patients that are still no-shows, your front office staff should follow up with them, determine the reason for the no-show and enforce the no-show policy. By tracking the reasons patients give for missing an appointment, patterns will emerge that will allow you to make adjustments to your policy and reminder messages.
Implementing and enforcing a clear cancellation policy is very important and will have a tremendous impact on your no-shows and last minute cancellations. Training your staff, educating your patients, and utilizing an appointment reminder service are the best ways to improve efficiency.
T. Atanasov is a product manager at ClientTell Corporation, which provides appointment confirmation and lab results reporting for major teaching hospitals and medical groups in the US. To learn more visit ClientTell website at http://www.clienttell.net/
This Article has been viewed 666 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.