I had an excruciatingly embarrassing encounter with a customer earlier this week and now can’t get it out of my mind. It’s tormenting me. Help!
The old-school psychoanalyst in us would say we need to revisit this in punishing detail (“These thoughts of perfection, where do they come from?”), but it doesn’t sound like you want to go there. In place of that approach, we recommend substitution (come up with a funny version of the story) or distraction. The latter gets a bad rap, but studies have shown it’s actually effective. Want to forget that screw-up on the sales floor? Go polish lenses for 30 minutes. Or start plotting a complex dinner for tonight. Your brain has trouble focusing on more than one thing at a time, so a new action interferes nicely with recollection.
I had a patient yesterday no show for the third time in two weeks. Should I charge a fee?
While charging for no-shows is pretty common, it needs to be done in a way that doesn’t alienate the patient or damage the doctor-patient relationship. That means early communication of your no-show policy. It’s also a good idea to explain how no-shows affect the practice and other patients. Before you get to the point of financially punishing a patient, put in place a system to keep those no shows to a minimum. From the basics to more advanced techniques, this would include:
- A reminder system: automated texts, emails, or calls; multiple reminders (e.g., one week, one day, and the day of).
- Require patients to confirm their appointments and release unconfirmed slots after a set time.
- Online scheduling. Let patients reschedule or cancel easily (within reason).
- Keep a dynamic waiting list. Fill canceled slots quickly from it.
- Follow-up. Contact no-show patients to reschedule and learn why they missed the appointment.
- Offer more flexible scheduling, like extended hours or weekends.
- Offer perks to incentivize consistent attendance.
- Overbooking. Cautiously overbook based on historical no-show rates.
- Prioritize reliable patients. Give better times to patients with good attendance.
- Train staff. Ensure consistent, professional handling of no-shows.
- Review insurance policies. Some plans have relevant provisions you can use.
Do your best to balance addressing no-shows with maintaining positive patient relationships. The goal is to reduce no-shows while keeping patients satisfied with your services.
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