Research Reveals Reasons Underlying Patient No-Shows

ACP (American College of Physicians) published an article highlighting reasons for patient no-shows for a psychiatric practice. Although this article highlights the reasons for no-shows in a psychiatric practice, these reasons could be similar in other practices as well:

• The no-show rate was between 19% and 22%
• Between $11 million and $19 million was lost.
• The research studied over 11,000 visits and they found that socioeconomic factors do affect whether or not the patient will show up for their appointment
• The time and the type of patient they scheduled determined whether or not they were going to show up for their appointment.
• Patients who lived:
• 5-10 miles away were very likely to show
• 19 and 60 miles were more likely to miss their appointments
• Greater than 60 miles they almost always showed up
• The study found that there were many logistical factors & demographic characteristics (whether the patient was married, what their gender was) played a role in if they were to show up for their appointment.

To read the full article, please click the following link: Research Reveals Reasons Underlying Patient No-Shows

For additional billing, coding, and reimbursement resources, please click the following link: Medical Reimbursement Resources Page

Patient Perceptions on No-Shows

According to a study published by Annals of Family Medicine, there are many reasons why people do not show up to their scheduled appointments. The study stated on average that 42% of appointments were no shows. The study then went on to state the following as potential reasons why the patient didn't show:

• Trouble getting off work
• No child care
• Lack of transportation
• Too costly
• Patients who scheduled their appointments in advance and then felt better also failed to show up to their appointment.  
• Patients also felt "too unwell" to show up to their appointments
• Some people felt "emotional barriers" and the negative emotions that go along with going to the doctor and feel that people could go to the doctor for one thing and then they could have other underlying issues that the doctor may find.

For the full article, please click here: Why We Don't Come: Patient Perceptions on No-Shows

For additional billing and coding resources, please click the following link: Medical Reimbursement Billing and Coding Resources

Improving Patient Care

Need solutions on how to improve your patient no-shows?

In an article published by Family Practice Management, they offered tips on how to improve patient care as well as how to manage the "habitual" no-show patient.

Many practices do not have a policy to address the problem of missed appointments and cancellations. According to the article, only 46% had policies in place to address missed appointments and cancellations.

Some solutions mentioned in the article were as follows:

• Double booking patients
• This is not always the best solution
• "First-come, first-served" models
• Negative about this is the long wait
• Not a good solution for many of the problem patients
• Added a "new doctor" named Virtual Physician ("Dr. VP") 
• If they are a "habitual" no-show patient and schedule an appointment they were added to this doctors queue
• By doing this they do not effect the regularly scheduled patient
• 6-month alternative scheduling probation
• Contacted the patient by letter and phone
• If they made their scheduled appointments, they would return to the normal scheduling (and not Dr. VP)
• They could only see their primary care physician - unless their needs are for acute care
• If they did not make their appointments after 6-months, they could be terminated from the practice

To view the full article, please click the following link: Managing No-Show Patients

For additional billing and coding resources, please click the following link: Medical Reimbursement Resources Page

How to Reduce Patient No-Shows

The Medical Group Management Association's (MGMA) In Practice Blog developed a helpful post on how to reduce patient no-shows consisting of 30 tips - some of these tips were common and some were not so common.

A sampling of the tips included:

• Develop a call list of patients who are able to come in for short-notice appointments
• Track the reasons each patient gives for a no-show
• Provide the option to send your patients an e-mail appointment reminder
• Hold a gift card drawing for all patients who show up on time in a given month
• Develop strong relationships with patients to increase their commitment to your practice. Suggestions include sending birthday or holiday cards and assigning nurses to specific patients to work and follow up with.

To view the full blog post with all 30 tips, please click here: 30 Ways to Reduce Patient No-Shows