The Real Cost of Patient No-Shows: How to Save Thousands Annually

Key Takeaways

• Last-minute cancellations or no-shows can be costly to dental practices — as much as $150,000 in lost revenue each year.
• Dental practices can reduce no-shows by prioritizing patient engagement.
• Engagement tools go beyond reminders to include traffic alerts and digital waitlists.
• Doctible’s automation tools keep patients engaged without putting a burden on office staff.

No-shows and last-minute cancellations are a hidden financial drain with far-reaching impacts throughout your practice. Not only does a no-show result in missed revenue, it also wastes time and resources, creates operational challenges, and prevents other patients from receiving care. 

No-shows cost dental practices an estimated $150,000 annually, so it’s no surprise dentists are constantly seeking ways to reduce them.

Patient engagement is key to reducing no-shows, and this goes beyond traditional appointment reminders. Let’s explore several effective ways dental practices can reduce no-shows, improve patient adherence, and increase revenue.

The Financial Impact of Patient No-Shows

When a patient doesn’t show up for an appointment, it costs your dental practice money. You’re still paying your staff. You have to keep the lights on. And you’re not bringing in revenue because you’re unable to provide service to the patient.

Annual Revenue Losses from No-Shows

No-shows may cost dental practices as much as $150,000 per year. Other sources estimate that just one no-show per day can cost dentists as much as $200,000 each year. This accounts for lost revenue as well as the cost of lost productivity for your staff.

New practices have the potential to grow 30-50% within their first three years. However, no-shows often slow this growth and prevent practices from reaching peak potential.

When patients fail to show up, they create a ripple effect throughout your practice: Unfilled time slots disrupt operations, affecting staff productivity and patient flows. Plus, it takes away opportunities for other patients to receive care, which could have translated into additional revenue over the life of a patient.

Hidden Costs Beyond Missed Appointments

Aside from the obvious revenue losses, dental practices experience other financial woes when a patient doesn’t show up. Staff spends extra time rescheduling missed appointments, which takes away from other duties. 

Patients might also perceive your practice as inefficient or poorly managed when there are long delays or constant rescheduling. When patients can schedule appointments themselves, no-shows are reduced by 17%.

This underscores the importance of having digital tools and a digital-savvy image that resonates with the current generation.

No-shows might also affect how other patients perceive your practice. A busy dental office is usually a sign of a good provider. Patients who don’t show up fail to contribute to the in-office “buzz,” making your practice seem less busy. 

Doctible's Solutions for Reducing No-Shows

While no-shows are a top challenge among dental practices, it’s not an impossible problem to fix.

Doctible, a patient engagement platform, puts a strong emphasis on patient engagement to bring patients into appointments on time – and when this isn’t possible, filling the gap with another patient is the next best step.

Automated Patient Reminders

Automated patient reminders reduce no-shows by sending SMS or voice messages ahead of appointments. This helps patients keep appointments top of mind so they’re more likely to keep the appointment (or take quicker action to cancel or reschedule). 

Doctible’s patient engagement software confirms over 70% of appointments automatically.

You can also automatically send reminders to patients when it’s time to book the next appointment using Doctible’s patient recall feature, saving additional time while improving patient retention.

Digital Waitlist

When a patient cancels, practices can salvage the lost revenue by filling the slot as soon as possible. Practices can recover an estimated $60,000 annually by filling canceled appointments. However, this is easier said than done when patients cancel at the last minute.

Doctible helps solve this issue with a digital waitlist. EasyFill allows practices to fill 44% of last-minute cancellations by automatically notifying patients on the waitlist.

‍The digital waitlist works automatically so your staff doesn’t have to take time away from other duties to try and fill the slot.

Traffic Alerts and Voice Reminders

Late shows can contribute to revenue losses, too. They impact staff productivity, cause delays for other patients’ appointments, and may erode your reputation when schedules run behind.

‍Traffic alerts help to reduce late shows by notifying patients of real-time traffic conditions before their appointments. 

You can send traffic alerts via text or voice reminders with Doctible. Patients can choose their preferred method so they’re more likely to see, receive, and even respond to their reminders.

How Much Can You Save with Doctible?

Saving $60,000, $100,000, or more per year by reducing patient no-shows isn’t just theoretical. Real Doctible customers are using features like EasyFill, automated patient reminders, and traffic alerts to get patients to the office and close revenue leaks.

Real Savings Calculations

Our clients who use automated patient reminders save 74 hours of staff time per month, equivalent to nearly two full-time weeks.

Doctible users are also recovering substantial revenue by easily filling last-minute openings. EasyFill successfully fills 44% of openings using a digital waitlist.

Case Study Highlight

Take it from one of our clients, Summerville Spine & Disc. This practice saved 25 hours per week and significantly reduced missed appointments using Doctible’s solutions, improving patient retention and operational efficiency​.

In total, Doctible saves about 131 staff hours per month, resulting in less admin work and more time freed up for patient care. 

Read our use case study to see how your practice can benefit from Doctible’s digital patient engagement platform.

Implementing Doctible in Your Practice

Adding Doctible to your practice is easier than you might think. With a user-friendly interface, a short learning curve, and flexible options, your staff will be up and running in no time.

Seamless Integration with Your Practice Management System

Doctible’s patient engagement platform works with over 65 practice management systems, allowing for a smooth setup without disrupting current operations​​. Your staff can keep using tools they’re comfortable with while benefiting from Doctible’s solutions.

Customizable and Scalable Solutions

Practices can customize features like reminders, patient recall, and online scheduling to fit their specific needs. Infuse your brand across every touchpoint to personalize your outreach and create a strong, consistent image.

Doctible serves as a complete solution for online reputation management for doctors, dentists, chiropractors, and other healthcare professionals. From growing your practice to protecting your image, our platform brings operations, marketing, and PR into a single interface.

Reduce Patient No-Shows with Doctible

No-shows significantly impact a practice’s revenue, but with Doctible’s patient engagement tools, practices can reduce the real cost of no-shows while streamlining operations. Staying in touch via your patients’ preferred methods can keep appointments top of mind. 

Helpful alerts like traffic issues reduce late shows. And digital waitlists can recover potential losses when patients cancel — all while working in the background so your office staff can focus on patient care.

Schedule a demo with Doctible to see how much your practice could save by reducing no-shows and cancellations.