Helpful Strategies to Reduce No Show Rates

The problem with patients missing a scheduled appointment is not a new issue for medical and dental offices. In fact, some data suggest that it may be on the rise.

In this post, we’ll review some helpful strategies to reduce no show rates.

Get to know your patients

You can’t manage what you do not measure.

To put this into perspective for your “no show” appointments, be sure to identify and track patients that miss appointments. From your list, look for common reasons for the missed appointments.

Are there certain appointment types that are skipped more often than any other types? Have you “bumped” or canceled an appointment with this patient before? Was the time-frame from the date of booking the appointment to the actual appointment date longer than normal?

Look for specific patterns in your data that may help you pinpoint solutions for lowering the number of missed appointments.

Stay on time

Legendary college basketball coach John Wooden once said, “Respect a man, and he will do all the more.”

Patients that experience long time delays in the waiting or exam room may perceive this as a lack of respect for their time, which can cause a greater amount of disrespect for your time.

If you are finding that you are always running late, look for ways to create more patient access. Strategies to reduce no show rates may include changing your scheduling techniques, and/or adding a mid-level provider or another doctor or dentist to your practice.

Communicate and engage

A patient that understands the importance of the scheduled appointment is more likely to keep the appointment.

Making reminder telephone calls to the patient is a common way of doing this. If you are scheduling patients for a repeat visit, providers should speak with the patient regarding the need for the revisit and then staff members will be able to reinforce this with the patient during the check-out process and provide them with your appointment policy.

Also during the scheduling process, ensure that your patients participate in selecting the day and time of the appointment.

Advice from other healthcare providers

Here are some additional strategies to reduce no show rates offered by your peers:

1. Install a reminder system. Send out reminder postcards 15 days prior to the patient visit. Call the patient two days prior to the visit.

Whether this is a manual system or an automated one, reminding patients of their appointment in advance is a good practice. Making these calls in the early evening may stand a better chance of making a personal connection.

Keep in mind that this can be done by training and utilizing your college-age students who are looking for work.

2. Confirm appointment electronically first and then call the patient if they do not respond.

Some practice management systems today have the ability to contact your patients through a computerized system. Does yours?

Invest in learning how to use the features of your computer system or technology in general. These tools can assist you in efficiently managing your practice.

3. Establish a procedural system and written policy for canceled and “no show” appointments. Include a note on your appointment card. Ensure that your contact information for the patient is up to date at each visit.

Effectively communicating and reinforcing what you say with a written policy that is part of your “patient appointment or practice brochure” will assist you in educating your patients regarding the importance of their appointment with you.