How to Reduce Missed Medical Appointments

"I forgot" is an excuse you probably hear far too often from patients who have missed their appointments and are demanding a new one ASAP. What they don't understand is that time is money. Using these strategies and simple techniques, you can help your office increase its revenue by decreasing no-shows.

The Annals of Family Medicine published a study showing 65% of participants said negative emotions toward the doctor's office were the primary reason for missing appointments. Others mentioned fear of the unknown or that their condition(s) had cleared up. No matter the patients' reasons, missed appointments are costing your office time and money.

Do these situations sound familiar to you?

• Your office personnel are appearing overworked, rushed and negative — and you're afraid it's off-putting to your patients
• There is no consistent system for accepting or rejecting patients' excuses
• Your patients' technology use varies so reminder text messages or emails won't work for everyone
• You don't have a waiting list system in place when patients cancel their appointments and you know there are others who would like to be seen earlier
• You're concerned for patients who are cancelling due to self-resolving conditions because they might not be treating the underlying issue
• The wait time for appointments in your office is several weeks and it's hard to squeeze in new patients — you know this isn't good for long-term business
• You've got a reminder service set up but other than the time and date you're not sure what the message should say

Managing and scheduling patients is tough enough without having to ensure that they actually make it to the office. From patient education and limited waiting times to reminder services and negative consequences, there are many solutions to the cancellation conundrum.

If you find yourself constantly following up with absent patients, rescheduling excuse-makers and reorganizing schedules, then enroll in this quick and informative webinar today! You'll learn how to keep your office running smoothly and save precious hours in your day.

Don't continue to struggle with lost revenue from missed appointments. This powerful one-hour webinar will provide you with the knowledge to handle appointment overbooking, tracking, reminders and follow-ups to keep your office organized, personnel busy and patients happy!

• Explore how reminder services can improve patient accountability
• Discover ways to educate patients about your office's business practices so they'll respect your time and show up on schedule
• Learn how to stress the importance of keeping routine appointments
• Develop a system for cancellations in the event that a patient legitimately needs to reschedule
• Identify the pros and cons of overbooking
• Understand the necessity of notifying the healthcare provider of no-shows — and why you should let the patients know you're doing it

How to Reduce Missed Medical Appointments is perfect for office managers, physicians, nurses, front desk personnel or any healthcare professional who handles patient scheduling.