Do you struggle to manage late patients? Do you want to decrease your no-shows? Every practice has to come to terms with chronically late patients. And like many clinics experience, dealing with late patients can be difficult and frustrating. However, there are tactics and programs that offer a solution to both challenges.
A Late or No Show Fee
A late or no show fee is a common solution to encourage your patients to show up on time. Money is always, and has always been a great motivator. A no show fee, which you can deem equivalent to an average co-pay, can help your patient understand the exact value of how much your practice is losing when they don’t show up. This might make them more accepting of your policy.
Establish A Tardiness Policy
Your practice should establish a tardiness policy and be prepared to enforce that policy. This policy can include written or verbal warnings, late fees, or force them to reschedule their appointment.
Use Appointment Reminders
Automatic appointment reminders can be a very efficient way to encourage patients to show for their schedule appointment on time. These reminders have also proven to effectively decrease no-show patients by 80% or more. Programs like appointmentreminders.com offer a feasible solution.
Take advantage of our 30 day free trial. With no credit card required, you can determine if our program is the right fit for your practice. And now that you have solutions to handling late patients, you can also decrease no-shows.
