Missed, Cancelled and Late Appointment Policies
We inform all patients on our registration form of our request for a 24 hours cancellation from you, which will not incur a fee for cancellation. If can’t you make your appointment, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer it to someone else. Your consideration is appreciated because the sooner you call us the greater our chances of providing this time to someone else.
If a person fails to show for an appointment and does not provide 24 hours notice prior to cancelling then our health care professional will charge the rate of $50.00 for payment of the missed appointment. These charges will not be billed to your insurance provider. Your appointment time is allotted to you so we will charge you for failure to call.
This policy applies to the following missed appointments:
- The appointment is not the patient’s first visit
- The individual was previously informed of the policy
- The cancellation was not due to a medical emergency
- Failure to cancel in more than 24 hours notice
- This applies to all patients
According to payment policy at the Center for Medicare Management, “CMS’s policy is to allow physicians and suppliers to charge Medicare beneficiaries for missed appointments, provided that they do not discriminate against Medicare beneficiaries but also charge non-Medicare patients for missed appointments. The charge for missed appointment is not a charge for a service itself (to which the assignment and limiting charge provisions apply), but rather a charge for a missed business opportunity.” Therefore, our missed appointment policy applies equally to all patients (Medicare and non-Medicare).
Late Appointment Arrivals
We ask for you to plan to arrive on time for your appointment. We do not wish to keep anyone waiting and operate on a set schedule. Our office offers designated time for each patient. Our fees are based on the time period you were scheduled for. We offer appointment time in increments of 15 minutes usually. If you arrive late for appointment, you will be responsible for payment of the period of time you were scheduled and the time will not be extended. If you arrive 15 minutes late you will be required to pay the full amount. If you have insurance, your insurance will only be charged for the time you spent face to face with us and you will be charged the difference.
Thank you for your cooperation in helping us provide the best care possible to you!