The following policies have been established to help us serve you better. It is necessary to make appointments in order for us to see our patients as efficiently as possible. No-shows and late-shows cause problems that go beyond any financial impact to our practice. When an appointment is made, it takes an available time slot away from another patient. No-shows and late-shows unnecessarily delay the delivery of health care to other children, some of whom may be quite ill. For these reasons we have developed the following no-show policy and late-show policy.
No-show Policy
A no-show is defined as missing a scheduled appointment without calling us in advance to cancel the appointment. A patient who no-shows three times in a calendar year is subject to dismissal from the practice. The first two no-shows will be followed by a letter in the mail reminding the patient's guardian of our policy. After the third no-show in the same calendar year, a letter will be mailed requesting that the patient find a new primary care physician. We will assist the patient in any way we can in finding a new pediatrician. The number of no-shows do not carry over into the next calendar year, so that everyone has a clean slate starting January 1. We understand that situations occasionally arise when an appointment can not be kept, and adequate notice is not possible. These situations will be considered on a case by case basis.
Late-show Policy
A patient who is less than 15 minutes late to his or her appointment will be informed that they are late, but will be roomed as soon as possible, and the doctor will see them as soon as possible. A patient who is more than 15 minutes late to his or her appointment will be informed that they have missed their appointment, and will need to reschedule the appointment for another time. This may be later in the day, or it may be several days depending on the purpose of the visit.
Please understand that the intent of these policies are to aid us in offering a high standard of care to our patients. They are not meant to be a burden. We also pledge to do our part to keep our schedule moving as efficiently as we possibly can.