5 Ways to Reduce Patient No-Shows at Your Medical Practice
Discover ways to help maintain patient engagement, while focusing on healthcare outcomes
Patient no-shows can disrupt your practice and threaten your revenue. A 2024 study conducted by Forrester reveals that the average cost of a no-show patient to a private practice is $100.1 At scale, that can add up to a lot of lost income.
Fortunately, there are straightforward ways to improve attendance and safeguard finances. Read on to learn strategies and tactics to help your medical practice reduce patient no-shows and recover revenue.
Challenge: I’m unsure how to reduce patient no-shows
Solution: Let your data be your guide
Start by quantifying the problem. Try these tips to get a clear picture of your practice:
- Count no-shows and calculate the resulting lost revenue for the year
- Look at revenue goals to discover how no-shows impact finances
- Compare no-shows to industry benchmarks to plan realistic change
- Analyze monthly or quarterly changes to find patterns or outliers
- Set goals like reducing your average patient no-show rate by 20% or more
- Consider strategies, tactics, and tools that support increased attendance
Your practice software is often a good place to start when you’re ready to make improvements. Some systems flag patients who are frequent no-shows, which allows your practice to increase outreach to those patients.
Additionally, tools like automated reminders can have a real impact. A recent Forrester study showed that ModMed® clients were able to reduce no-shows by 25% after automating processes with our software.1
Calculate how much revenue you could recover with ModMed.
Challenge: Patients would rather no-show than call to reschedule
Solution: Empower them with digital self-service tools
Patients shouldn’t have to call you to complete simple tasks. In fact, a recent study found that over half of the patients surveyed (51%) believe it should take less than five minutes to schedule a new appointment.2
With patient self-scheduling tools, patients can make appointments right from the device they use most. They pick the date and time that work best for them, which makes it more likely that they will stick with it. If something comes up, they can simply reschedule or text your office to make other arrangements.
And the best part? When your patients can handle administrative tasks themselves, there are fewer calls for your staff to answer. This allows your team to put the focus back where it matters — on patients.
Challenge: Patients forget appointments or have conflicts
Solution: Send automated reminders they can respond to
Nearly 3 out of 4 (69%) patients miss appointments due to a lack of reminders.2 Automated appointment reminders can help your average patient no-show rate without adding to your staff’s workload. If patients need to cancel or reschedule, they can do so, right from their mobile phones, empowering your staff to fill the empty slot.
Look for reminder tools that you can integrate with your practice management software and customize based on patient preferences, appointment types, and reminder frequency.
Case study: Dermatology practice reduces no-shows by 80%3
Metropolis Dermatology, a multiclinic practice in Los Angeles, significantly reduced its no-show rates with automated text reminders. Before using ModMed, the practice experienced 8 to 10 no-shows on Mondays, which decreased by about 80% after the implementation, bringing the number down to around two.3 Automating communication with patients also saved staff hours each day.
Challenge: Patients skip visits if they take too long
Solution: Cut back on wait times
How long do patients have to wait before they’re seen at your practice? If it’s too long, patients may decide to skip appointments on busy days. The solution? Improve attendance by reducing bottlenecks that cause delays.
Here are a few tips to help you do that:
- Let patients check in before they get to your office — right on their mobile phones
- Use an office flow tool that identifies where delays are happening during visits
- Shift to a digital intake process that integrates seamlessly with your software suite
- Use modern EHR software and AI scribes to help your team get through visits faster
These changes can help encourage busy patients to show up, knowing they’ll receive care promptly.
Challenge: Patients may struggle getting to your office
Solution: Offer virtual visits that patients can attend from anywhere
Some patients can have trouble traveling to appointments, especially when they’re not feeling well. If you can provide appropriate care via telehealth, you may find some patients prefer it and are less likely to cancel appointments because they don’t have to go anywhere.
By providing a simple way to connect, you may also be able to increase your patient load, which could help offset losses due to no-shows.
Challenge: No consequences for missed appointments
Solution: You could charge a fee
Even if you can’t entirely eliminate no-shows, you could partially recover lost revenue by implementing a no-show policy with a relatively low fee. If you decide to institute a patient no-show policy, consider these tips:
- Communicate your policy to patients when they schedule appointments
- Request or require patients to sign that they acknowledge your policy
- Provide appointment reminders so patients don’t feel caught off guard
These tactics could encourage your patients to prioritize visits, too.
Find a solution that works for your practice
How you improve no-show rates may be specific to your practice, but certain solutions can streamline your approach. The right tools allow you to discover the scope of the challenge, create and implement strategies, and track improvement efforts.
Download our playbook to learn how to benchmark your current no-show rate and use your practice data to spot additional areas for improvement.
1 SOURCE: A COMPOSITE ORGANIZATION BASED ON 10 INTERVIEWEES AND 10 ADDITIONAL CUSTOMER POLL RESPONSES FROM THE TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT™ OF MODMED, A FORRESTER CONSULTING TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT™ STUDY, COMMISSIONED BY MODMED, MARCH 2024.
2 “The Deciding Factors: What Patients Want.” Klara. 2025.
3 Results may vary depending on medical practice size, product usage and other variables.
4 Gifford M. Why do you wait so long at the doctor’s offices? PartnerMD. May 13, 2025.
This blog is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or medical advice. Please consult with your legal counsel and other qualified advisors to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and standards.
