Empty appointments are more than an inconvenience. They come with a hefty cost for your practice that goes beyond just revenue.

Patient no-shows impact your:

  • Profitability
  • Efficiency
  • Quality of care

So, just how much can these no-shows affect your practice, and what can you do to reduce them? Let’s start by exploring the significant impact of no-shows.

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Patient No-Shows Affect Your:

Profitability

Outpatient imaging no-shows can cost radiology departments up to $1 million in missed revenue annually. But the costs don’t just stop at the missed appointment opportunity. Practice managers and executives cannot overlook the costs associated with the underutilization of expensive equipment and resources such as X-rays and MRI machines.

Efficiency

Missed appointments cause serious disruptions to your workflows. When a patient no-shows, front-office staff have to spend time tracking down patients, leaving voicemails, and coordinating new appointment times while being present to care for the patients in front of them. This can be incredibly frustrating for already thinly stretched administrative staff at your practice.

Quality of Care

No-shows are synonymous with volatility. When a practice can’t properly prepare staff and internal resources to take care of their patients, the quality of care becomes compromised for all patients. No-shows inherently lead to poor healthcare outcomes, especially if a center is unsuccessful in rescheduling patient appointments.

 

Reducing Patient No-Shows at Your Diagnostic Imaging Center

Studies show that patient scheduling conflicts and miscommunication are the top causes of missed appointments.

So, how do you remedy these factors to reduce no-shows and their negative consequences on your practice?

Patient engagement solutions like automated reminders, appointment confirmations, and patient portal self-scheduling are some of the most effective ways to reduce no-shows and enhance patient (and staff) satisfaction.

An automated administrative workflow and scheduling system not only allows you to scale appointment volume and reduce patient no-shows, but also frees up your office staff to focus on other things like patient care coordination.

In fact, with the simple introduction of telephone reminders, one breast imaging center saw a significant reduction in appointment no-shows from almost 21% to just 7%.

 

Interested in learning more about the state of the industry and the impact of current trends on radiology practices across the country? Download our free report here ($295 value): LINK