Re: cost of 'no shows'

From: Don Miller (DrMiller@eNATAL.com)
Wed May 26 07:46:48 2004


>Does anyone recall a recent medical economics about the "cost" to a practice
>for No Shows? Any other figures on the cost of not kept appointments?

Googling around I found the following links that provide an overall discussion http://www.shands.org/professional/ppd/practice_article.asp?ID=87 and http://www.ascrs.org/publications/ao/giacolne74.html

Like almost anything in medicine (where there's also extended and unquantifiable financial liability implications) much of the costs for no-shows will be "soft" and highly variable.

Spending the time pulling a chart unecessarily, documenting the no-show with a note, consulting with a provider on how agressively to pursue the no-show (e.g. how important was it that she come in?), phoning the patient at one or two numbers, leaving messages, documenting the phone call, keeping track of the patient to call back if she could not reached, addressing and sending a form letter to the patient regarding the no-show, refiling the chart, etc. all costs you money! And even more costly to you is the time that you lost because you could have seen a paying patient in the no-show's place who could have helped you pay overhead.

And of course much of the above is PYA necessitated by lawyers and has very little to do with actual patient care 99.9% of the time.

--
Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD, FACOG
eNATAL, LLC
http://www.eNATAL.com




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