Providers who wish to reduce no-show visits and increase revenue need to adopt automated appointment reminders. When clients do not show up for their visits, your practice loses in more ways than one. No-shows create gaps in a provider’s schedule where they could be visiting with other clients. Not only this, but they cost providers valuable revenue when they do not get to charge for services. Automated appointment reminders offer therapists the opportunity to improve staff efficiency, increase client engagement, and reduce no-show visits at their practice.
Why Automated Appointment Reminders are Important
Revenue Loss
When a client does not show up for a visit, you lose important revenue. This is due to the fact that you cannot bill for services if none were rendered. While many therapists have implemented cancellation policies to try and make up some of the difference, it still does not add up to the income you would make had the patient shown up. For example, if a therapist charges $100 per visit and sees 6 clients a day, they would make around $600 a day and $3000 per week. (($100 x 6 clients p/d) x 5 days p/w= 3000 p/w). In this scenario, a therapist might charge a $50 no-show fee. If a therapist has 5 absences in one week, they will lose $250 in revenue per week and $1000 per month.
Holes in the Schedule
The average therapist sees around 5-6 patients a day depending on the length of the visit or the type of therapy they offer. During a time where so many people are seeking out mental health appointments, providers need to maximize their schedule to work with as many people as they are able to. When a client no-shows, a therapist wastes an hour of their day doing nothing when they could have been working with another client had they had time to fill the hole.
Decreased Client Engagement
When a client does not show up, they miss out on engagement with their provider. No-show visits have a huge negative impact on the level of client interaction. Not only are they missing an appointment that could have helped them make progress, but they miss out on building a good relationship with their therapist. No-show visits are harmful to the client’s progress. This is why therapist need automated appointment reminders.
The Most Common Reasons for No-Show Visits
The most common reason that a client does not show up for their appointment is not that they do it intentionally. Actually, no-shows are most frequently caused by forgetfulness. This is why automated appointment reminders are so vital to reducing absences. If clients are not showing up because they are forgetting, they need tools that will help them remember.
Automated Appointment Reminders Make a Difference
Reach the Client no Matter What
In the past, appointment reminders were done manually. You or your staff would have to spend time calling each patient to make sure they were coming to their appointment. For a busy therapist, even this
was not always possible. The good news is that in 2021, automated appointment reminders are helping. Now, an automated system sends a text, call, and email reminder to clients so that they will not forget their appointment. Sending multiple forms of automated appointment reminders will ensure that your clients will see it. This will give them plenty of time to cancel or reschedule if they need to.
Reminds Them Multiple Times
One of the greatest features of automated appointment reminders is that they can be sent to the client more than once. In the weeks and days ahead of their appointment, providers can send their clients multiple automated appointment reminders to ensure they never forget and have plenty of time to prepare.
Increases Therapist-Client Communication
Frequent communication between yourself and your client is an effective way to keep them engaged. Even though automated appointment reminders are not direct communication with your client, they are still a great way to help your clients feel connected and engaged with your organization.
Gives Client Time to Cancel/Reschedule
If a client needs to miss their appointment for another reason other than forgetfulness, automated appointment reminders are still an incredible help. Sending reminders out ahead of time helps give your client plenty of time to cancel and reschedule their visit if something has come up. This enables the therapist to fill that hole in their schedule rather than lose out on important revenue.
Automated appointment reminders are essential tools that therapists need to keep their clients engaged, reduce lost revenue, and keep their schedule full.
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