Risk Management

How effective is your missed appointment protocol?

June 8, 2021

Dear OMIC insureds,

Patients who fail to keep appointments disrupt their continuity of care and risk negative impacts to their health. These “no-shows” also have multiple costs for your practice, from lost revenue to additional time and frustration for you and your staff, as well as the lost opportunity to give that appointment to another patient. In our current climate of catching up on deferred care and postponed surgeries due to the pandemic, missed appointments have even greater impacts.

An effective missed appointment protocol actually begins far in advance of the appointment itself. Consider what method of communication you will use to remind patients of their appointments. Whether your system is manual, automated, or a hybrid, it should be customized to fit your patient population so it increases the probability of success. When patients register with your practice for the first time, or return for an appointment, take the opportunity to note if they prefer appointment reminders by text, email, or telephone. Keep the reminders brief and be clear about what action the patient needs to take to confirm or reschedule the appointment. These appointment reminders are also an opportunity to reinforce current safety precautions in your office.

When patients do miss appointments, it’s imperative that your staff understand what actions to take. Let them know what information you need in order to review no-shows and cancellations and determine next steps. This is a medical decision that cannot be delegated. On page 5 of our Noncompliance Toolkit we provide a sample strategy for managing missed appointments. When patients routinely miss appointments, they not only place their own health at risk, but they also increase your risk of a claim due to a missed or delayed diagnosis, or the effectiveness of ongoing treatment. In such instances you may need to consider discharging the patient from your practice, which is discussed in Terminating the Physician-Patient Relationship.

If you have questions, contact us for confidential risk management advice at riskmanagement@omic.com. Or call us at 1-800-562-6642, and enter 4 for Risk Management.

Sincerely,

Linda D. Harrison, PhD
Vice President, OMIC Risk Management

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