Being so close with our clients, we understand what makes their clinics tick and what their biggest grumbles are. Often, practitioners tell us their biggest headache is cancellations and DNAs. The thing is, there are no winners when it comes to cancellations or a DNAs. Practitioners miss out on income; patients face a recovery setback and your clinic loses a potential advocate. So, how do you go about reducing these?

If you’ve been reading our recent content, you’ll likely have learned of the benefits of starting your patient engagement process as early as possible can have on your cancellation rate. However, there are many other factors surrounding DNAs and sometimes they cannot be avoided.

The true cost of new patient cancellations

Traditionally, managing cancellations and DNA’s was a laborious process with names scratched and scored out of your diary. Making counting up at the end of the month a horrible manual process which many practice managers would avoid.

But what a lot of practitioners fail to see, is that a new patient cancelling is not just worth that initial appointment but three. Yes, that’s right, it’s not just the one appointment you’re missing out on it’s the next three treatments that would follow on, worth an average of £150 per client.

If we do the maths on that, with an average rate of three cancellations per week it amounts to a staggering £23,400. And if that’s not enough to get your attention, we’re not sure what is.

What makes patients cancel?

Each clinic is different, each patient is different, and each treatment is different. There’s an endless list of reasons why a patient may cancel from simply forgetting to problems with childcare or work commitments, however the key is being able to identify this early enough to minimise risk.

We took a look at one of our clients, K2 physio and the issues they faced with DNAs and how they have managed to overcome these with TM3: Due to the location of the practice and its busy business focused client base, cancellations and DNA’s were not just a major headache but a financial drain. No shows were hitting up to 10 per week at £40 per appointment, meaning K2 were losing out on a potential £20,800 per year.

The solution was simple and provided huge returns on investment. Via TM3, K2 began sending out SMS reminders the day before appointments. The 24-hour cancellation policy could now be enforced, and cancellations and DNA’s were charged. By using this simple feature, DNAs were reduced by 80%. A simple solution for a serious problem.

Reach your practice potential

Whilst some DNAs may not be avoidable (discover how best to spend your time if you do face cancellations this summer), TM3 provides you with the tools to ensure you are best placed to generate maximum revenue at your practice this summer and beyond.

Get in touch with one of our experts to discuss the needs of your practice.