No-Show Fees: Should Your Dental Practice Use Them?

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A missed appointment is one when a patient does not show up, does not call to cancel, or does not reschedule. 

Improving treatment proficiency and office output, through well-structured practices, should be the goal of every dentist. However, patient nonattendance has an impact on this, which is a major issue and source of concern for dental practitioners.

In private practice dentistry, no-show fees can be a contentious issue. While some individuals support them, others believe it is unjust to charge someone a fee for missing an appointment.

Should Your Dental Practice Use No-Show Fees?

Let us consider some factors if you’re not sure whether or not you want to introduce no-show fees in your practice.

Before considering a no-show fee, consider who is responsible for now-show
If you have patients who regularly schedule appointments but fail to show up, it may be time to consider adopting a no-show fee and advising them of the change.

If a patient fails to show up for their first appointment, it could be due to an emergency or something completely out of their control. Given this, you might want to consider implementing a no-show policy that allows for exceptions in the event of an emergency.

You must be able to set up a no-show policy that is appropriate for your dental office in light of these circumstances.

Consider how much time do you lose due to a no-show appointment
You’re wasting hours of precious paid time if you have a lot of no-shows in your clinic. This is a sign that a no-show fee should be implemented so that you may keep a share of the income from the appointment.

Missing or canceling an appointment prevents other eligible patients from obtaining the care they deserve, and delays booking and waiting time in the clinic for other patients with scheduled appointments, affecting the standard of care they receive.

A dentist’s day is frequently organized. They know when they’ll see patients, when they’ll be able to take a break, and other details. When someone fails to appear for an appointment, it is aggravating.

When a patient fails to show up for their appointment, you may lose anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes, depending on the nature of the checkup. You’re not only disrupting your schedule, but you’re also losing money.

Refusing the frequently no-show patients for appointments
Dentists are increasingly turning away patients who fail to show up regularly. Refusing a patient entails informing them that you will no longer be seeing them for appointments.

This does not cover patients who call ahead to cancel, reschedule, or deal with an unanticipated circumstance.

If you don’t want to refuse a patient but yet want them to know you’re serious about it being a possibility, it might be time to adopt a no-show fee to show your patients that you take every appointment seriously.

Time is money, especially when you’re a healthcare professional. So, if you are losing time because a considerable number of your patients are missing appointments, it’s time for you to introduce a no-show fee in your practice while considering the factors explained here.