The True Cost of Cancellation Fees

Patient no-shows are one of the most problematic aspects of practice management. They impact revenue and waste resources ultimately increasing the cost of care. Furthermore, the persistence of patient no-shows stifles provider productivity, minimizing access and delaying care for your entire patient population. Providers take a variety of approaches to eliminate this problem, from resource intensive research to attempt to identify the root of the problem or predict which patients will no-show, to creative scheduling approaches and most commonly… cancellation fees.

Considering the huge financial impact that patient no-shows have on the industry (an estimated $150 billion annually) it’s no surprise that organizations would attempt to institute penalties in the form of fees. It’s true that patient no-shows impact a practice from operations to revenue, so many organizations see fees as an incentive and a way to make patients suffer some of the same consequences they’ve inflicted on the practice.

This can backfire tremendously.

To implement a penalty for missing an appointment denies the reality of why no-shows happen. Studies continuously find that no-shows are rarely intentional: most can be attributed to unavoidable circumstances or access failures on the part of the providers themselves. Punishing a patient for circumstances beyond their control in not only cruel, it alienates them from your system and could drive them to seek care elsewhere. When you choose cancellation fees over improving access you send patient the message that business comes first and foremost— diminishing their personal connection with their providers and destroying feelings of loyalty.

And fees aren’t great for operations either.

Implementing fees for missed appointments is no simple task. Patients with certain private insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare, are exempt from no-show fees which creates a logistical headache for billing departments. Additionally, executing penalties can complicate your scheduling workflow and further burden access staff. Policies like these put schedulers in the position of the enforcer and inevitably lead to desperate calls from patients who simply cannot afford their care on top of the cost of a mistake… resulting in lower employee satisfaction and discouraging patients from making appointments that aren’t critical.

Our new white paper approaches the issue of patient no-shows through a variety of strategies that support positive patient relationships and focus on improving outcomes. Access it now:

The Wild Card: Strategizing Around The Unpredictability And Inevitability Of No-shows