01/23/2018

Protocol for Billing No-Show Patients & Cancellations Within Less Than 24 Hour Notice

Can you tell me the protocol for billing patients for NO SHOW or Frequently CXD appointments with less than 24 hours notice. We are experiencing a high amount of no-show appts, even after confirming the day before. Our fee is $30. Our notices are posted in several places throughout the office, as well as check in and check out areas. We are also in the process of having all patients sign a statement acknowledging this. Is there anything else we should be doing? Thank you.

It appears that you are undertaking a lot of the right steps with no-show patients and frequent cancellations. Unfortunately, this is a difficult fee to collect even if you post and have patients sign a practice financial agreement. Below are recommendations for your practice:

• The policy needs to be explicit so patients are aware that there is a fee for no-show appointments and cancellations within 24 hours from the scheduled appointment time once they establish care.
• The practice should state that this fee is not covered by any insurance and that they will be responsible for the fee.
• Warn patients that they could potentially be dismissed from the practice to the care of another podiatrist if they miss too many appointments within a given timeframe.
• Keep in mind that any patient that is Medicaid eligible (whether primary or secondary, enrolled in FFS Medicaid or a Managed Care plan) may not be billed a no-show fee under any circumstances. The fee can only be billed for patients with commercial insurance, Medicare, or self-pay patients.