In private practice, consistent revenue is crucial for short-term operations as well as planning for future growth. An ongoing challenge for private practices is the high rate of late cancellations and no-show appointments. On average, providers experience a 17% no-show rate for telehealth appointments. This not only represents significant revenue losses but wastes valuable provider time. To combat this, implementing an auto charging system for late cancellations and no-shows offers a practical and effective solution. This article explores the benefits of auto charging, and how Healthie is empowering providers with this valuable feature. 

Protect Your Practice Revenue

When a patient misses an appointment or cancels without adequate notice, the provider not only loses the revenue generated for a completed appointment, but oftentimes the penalty fee expected to constitute for the missed appointment. Auto charging ensures that providers are at least partially compensated for the time they’ve already committed to the patient. This approach not only safeguards revenue streams but also encourages patients to adhere to their scheduled appointments. The prospect of monetary penalties can be a strong deterrent for patients who are considering canceling an appointment for non-urgent reasons. 

Streamline Your Billing Workflows

One of the greatest burdens for any practice can be back-and-forth communication for missed appointments or late cancellations. The tedious process of invoicing the patient for penalty fees can be laborious, time-consuming, and potentially fail to secure the penalty due. To aid providers and combat this problem, Healthie has fully automated the auto charging process – from identifying a no-show appointment to processing the payment. This not only secures the fees due but also significantly reduces the administrative burden. This allows your team to focus on patient care, nuanced cases, or tasks that will grow your business. 

Enhance Operational Efficiency

Understanding the patterns of no-shows and cancellations in your practice is crucial for improving overall efficiency, Healthie’s auto charging feature offers comprehensive reporting on no-show and cancellation rates, providing valuable insights into patient behavior. These reports empower you to make informed decisions, such as adjusting appointment booking policies, offering incentives for early cancellations, or updating your schedule to better meet patient needs.

By enhancing your operational efficiency, you can optimize your practice’s performance, reduce downtime, and ultimately increase your revenue stream. 

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Automatically Invoice vs Automatically Charge Patients

While invoicing patients is a common practice in many healthcare settings, it often falls short when compared to auto charging. Invoicing merely sends a bill after a missed appointment, relying on the patient to take action and make a payment. This process can lead to delays, forgotten invoices, and ultimately, a reduction in collected revenue. Automatically charging, on the other hand, ensures immediate payment by processing the late cancellation fee directly from the patient's account.

This proactive approach not only secures your revenue but also reduces the administrative hassle of chasing payments, making it a far more effective solution for managing late cancellations and no-show appointments.

Prevent Private Practice Revenue Loss with Healthie

The introduction of Healthie’s auto charging feature, available on the Plus Plan and above, enables providers to customize their cancellation policies to fit their unique practice needs. Whether it's setting different fees for various appointment types or deciding how many hours before an appointment is considered late, Healthie offers the flexibility to tailor the system to your practice. By automating this process, you not only protect your revenue but also gain valuable insights that can drive improvements in patient engagement and operational efficiency.

To further help practices communicate and enforce a late cancellation policy or no show fee, Healthie also includes free practice form templates. Add these forms to your patient onboarding flow to ensure compliance and communicate your financial policies. Try Healthie for free today