Cancellations and rescheduling
When a patient cancels a visit in advance or asks to move it to another time. Unlike a no-show, the clinic finds out before the appointment and can still fill the freed-up slot.
≈ cancellation · cancellations · rescheduling · rescheduled appointment · cancelled appointment
Why it is a separate problem
Cancellations and rescheduling look harmless: the patient did let you know, after all. But every freed-up slot is doctor and chair time the clinic is paying for anyway. If nobody fills it, the result for revenue is the same as a no-show.
Rescheduling carries its own risk. A patient who has moved their visit several times may never make it in at all. And in multi-stage treatment, moving one visit shifts the whole plan.
How to measure it and what to do
Track separately the cancellation rate (cancelled appointments in a period divided by all appointments in that period), the rescheduling rate, and the share of freed-up slots that were filled again. Look at the reasons and at when the patient told you: last-minute cancellations are the hardest to fill.
Common mistakes.
- The diary does not distinguish between a cancellation, a reschedule and a no-show, so everything looks like an empty slot.
- Accepting a cancellation without offering a new time on the spot.
- Having no waiting list to fill a freed-up slot quickly.
- Confirming appointments so late that there is no one left to fill a cancellation.
What to do: whenever a patient cancels, reception offers a specific new time straight away, not 'call us when you can'. Confirm appointments early enough to leave time to react. Fill freed-up slots from the waiting list. Flag patients who reschedule repeatedly and find out separately what is getting in the way. Explain the cancellation terms calmly at the time of booking. You can check how this works in your clinic with the self-check.