How to Reduce No-Shows and Cancellations

When a guest doesn’t show for a party or cancels last minute, it can be disappointing or inconvenient. However, when a patient misses a dental appointment, it can be expensive and disruptive for a growing practice. Approximately 10% of patients cancel or no-show, so when you factor in overhead, staffing, and treatment space for a 15-to-60-minute appointment that isn’t kept – it can clearly add up over the year.

There are valuable steps to take to decrease the number of broken appointments, but first, look at the cause. Make sure your front desk follows up and identify the reason for cancelling or missing. Whether it’s financial, transportation, schedule conflict, fear, or simple forgetfulness, the problem can help determine the solution.

Patient Experience and Relationships

You’re probably seeing the term patient experience a lot these days, but it really boils down to excellent customer service. No one wants to feel like part of the assembly line or worse – a dollar sign – so make an effort to build good relationships from the start for more invested, responsible patients.

Today’s busy patients are looking for convenience so reducing wait times, providing online portals for forms and appointments, and having flexible hours can all go a long way to support that.

Communication and Follow-Up

Maintaining a strong line of communication for a scheduled appointment can reduce the likelihood of no-shows or cancellations. Thanks to regular advances in automation technology and patient management systems (PMS), it’s easier than ever.

Find out up front the patient’s preferred method of contact and then add a backup touchpoint, including text, phone, and email. Relying on only front desk staff to call with reminders can be cost- and time-prohibitive so using SMS messaging that requires a confirmation – or cancellation – can be very effective and more difficult for patients to ignore than a voicemail.

However, a personal follow-up phone call can reinforce the importance of their dental care and facilitate immediate rescheduling.

Accountability and Solutions

There’s much discussion on keeping patients accountable for missed appointments, with varying approaches to prevent it from happening too often, including:

• Fees for no-shows or cancellation within a 24-hour window
• Instituting a delayed time period before next possible booking (2 weeks, for example)
• Offering a prepayment plan for the next appointment
• Putting patient on a waitlist for next available opening

The downside of cancellation fees and ‘time-outs’ is the possibility of losing the patient or deferring the care they need, so be careful not to be punitive.

Presenting a prepayment option as “one less thing to worry about” can ensure commitment while also easing the fearful patient’s worries.

Be Proactive

It’s always important to be proactive, not only in building relationships and maintaining communication, but sometimes by going the extra mile patients will be less inclined to cancel.

• When scheduling appointments or following up on a cancellation, use positive reinforcement with reminders of the desired outcome of the patient’s treatment plan.
• Be prepared by having a cancellation policy in place and scripts to use when contacting patients who no-show or show up late. The American Dental Association provides suggestions and scripts for guidance.
• If certain patients have the desire but struggle with getting to the office, consider providing transportation such as Uber or use teledentistry for consultations when a visit isn’t required.
• Some dentists offer incentives for those who arrive as scheduled including freebies or entry into a drawing for something bigger like a whitening treatment.

And of course, one of the best ways to offset those inevitable no-shows is to have a list of upcoming appointments and call those patients to offer them the new opening.

At RAMP: The Dentist’s Marketing Company, we’re committed to helping dental practices protect their revenue and build their business through new patient acquisition, retention, and more. Set up an appointment today for a complimentary review of your current marketing strategy.