Reduce No Shows That Damage Your Bottom Line

Key Takeaways

• Missed appointments are a common reason for scheduling holes
• Patients miss appointments for many different reasons, including lack of confidence and/or communication with the practice
• Rescheduling a patient takes up more time and resources from the front desk
• While no shows can’t be eliminated, there are several ways to reduce your number of no shows (and the associated costs that come with it)

Let’s talk about the $150 billion elephant in the room.

Patient no shows are an everyday reality for all practices, costing the healthcare industry billions of dollars in lost revenue a year. But what’s the real damage that’s happening inside your practice?

A single doc practice is estimated to lose about $200 a day from no shows, which translates into $150,000 a year. 

But that’s not all.

Your front desk now has to spend more time tracking down the patient to reschedule the appointment, which could be several days, weeks, or even months from now. They may also spend additional time sending materials like appointment reminders or instructions, or answering questions on the phone. What’s more: your staff could be doing all those things, and it’s still anyone’s guess whether or not that patient will actually show up for their rescheduled appointment.

And, because no shows happen without warning, it’s too late to fit in someone from your waiting list. So not only have you lost a valued appointment, but you’ve also lost out on future business opportunities!

No shows are the ultimate time and money suck, and most practices think there isn’t much they can do about it. With no shows as high as 50% in some markets, you can’t leave your practice vulnerable to an excessive amount of sudden scheduling holes.

Why No Shows Happen

While some no shows happen because of unforeseen circumstances, you may not ever find out the exact reason why a patient didn’t show up. But there are a couple very common reasons that we need to look at:

• Healthcare anxiety: If patients aren’t feeling comfortable or confident about the practice, provider, or proposed treatment, then they may decide it’s easier for them to not go at all. Unfortunately, patients who miss appointments risk negative healthcare outcomes.
• They’ve lost interest: Some patients just lose interest from the time they schedule to the date of their appointment, especially if they scheduled several weeks or months ago.
• They forgot. With an often overburdened healthcare system, patients are scheduled so far in advance it’s just not realistic to expect a patient to remember about an appointment they made several months ago.
• Lack of childcare or transportation: Maybe their babysitter got sick, or their car won’t start, or the bus line isn’t running that day. 

So What’s the Solution?

Focus on the no shows you can prevent by increasing patient education and confidence:

• Give the patient clear and meaningful information: Most of us have a natural fear of the unknown. Ease your patient’s anxieties by sending them relevant information that’s presented in a way they can understand. WUWTA’s robust library of personalized content leads the market in patient education and confidence. 
• Engage the patient throughout their treatment: Your patient’s treatment experience starts the moment they make the appointment at your practice. Let them know they are doing the right thing and in the right hands by sending them the right content at every touchpoint. WUWTA is the easiest way to engage your patients and, thanks to WUWTA’s new dashboard, you can even see just how engaged a patient is and who might be at risk.
• Reschedule quickly. Connect with your no-shows as soon as possible and make every effort to reschedule in a timely manner. Whenever you reschedule, WUWTA makes it easy to re-engage and re-educate your patients.

Hot tip: Go beyond appointment reminders. An all-in-one platform like WUWTA ensures your patients not only know when their appointment is, but that they look forward to it.

Reduce No Shows & Improve Your Bottom Line 

See how a practice powered by WUWTA creates more engaged and informed patients. Schedule a 30-minute presentation today.