No-show patients are an annoying and costly problem for practices, but one community-based health center in Long Island, New York, is making headway.
The Elmont Teaching Health Center, a federally qualified health center, cut its patient no-shows by 34%. That’s significant given that missed appointments cost up to 14% of anticipated daily revenue at clinics and can also result in longer wait times and can hurt care quality, health outcomes and patient satisfaction.
The steps that Elmont took to reduce the number of no-show patients can help other practices or even other businesses that are hurt when customers don’t show up for appointments, Peter A. Guiney, D.O., one of the center’s doctors, said in an interview with FierceHealthcare.
“We felt if it works here, it can work anywhere,” said Guiney, who is chairman of the department of family medicine at Nassau University Medical Center and also serves as director of the family medicine residency program that places osteopathic residents at Elmont.
Read more: FierceHealthcare