Data, facts and instruments on the German health system
What it’s all about
No-shows are not only annoying, but they also create opportunity costs. Many practice owners are convinced that, unfortunately, no avoidance strategy exists either. But that’s not true.
Practices need to get ahead of the game
Practice management comparisons show that no-shows occur significantly and disproportionately often in practices whose workflow organization is characterized by appointments and long waiting times at the same time.
This means, formulated as a principle for action: Physicians and medical assistants, who expect their patients to keep the agreed appointments, must in turn act as an advance performance on schedule in the form of short waiting times. Only when patients see that their appointments are kept on time is there any obligation at all to actually keep the agreed times. This does not fundamentally prevent all incidents of this kind, but more than two-thirds do.
What physicians should know about “no-show prevention”.
The QuickStart Guide “No-Show Prevention for General Practitioners and Specialists” shows practice owners what further measures they can take to minimize the proportion of patients who do not show up at the practice for an agreed appointment without cancelling.
R2049 