Policy:

RCHS supports the expectation that clients will take responsibility for attending scheduled appointments and will take appropriate action for “no shows” and late arrivals.

Preamble:

RCHS is committed to providing quality and accessible care to all registered clients.  “No Shows” are detrimental to the individual who has missed his/her appointment and therefore missed follow up care.  “No shows” also impact RCHS’s ability to offer scheduled and timely appointments to other clients. 

“No Shows” will be addressed in a timely manner.  Consistent “no shows” will be processed through consultation with the client, provider and supervisor.   Supporting documentation will be kept in the client record.  Consistent “no shows” may result in limited access to clinic services up to and including termination of service.

While frequent “no shows” are unacceptable, RCHS is aware that some “no shows” are sometimes unavoidable due to various conditions, diseases, disorders, misunderstandings or unusual circumstances.  In these instances, the provider will assess the situation and work with the client and other staff involved to find solutions to keep scheduled appointments and/or to appropriately cancel scheduled appointments.

Definition:

“No Show” is the term used to describe an appointment which:

  1. the client has not kept and has not cancelled
  2. the client arrives more than 15 minutes after the scheduled appointment time

Procedure:

  1. The intent of the following procedure is to address those clients who repeatedly fail to show for their appointments for no apparent reason and not those who have difficulty attending appointments due to barriers.
    1. Clients are advised to notify the organization as soon as possible if they cannot make an appointment so someone else can be seen.  If they do not cancel, it will be classified as a “no show”.  This information is provided in the client’s initial orientation, through written documentation and on the waiting room monitor.
    2. Coding an appointment as a no show does not happen automatically and must be done manually.  Once it’s clear the client is not arriving, the most responsible staff member will mark the client as a no show by right clicking client name and choose ‘no show’ in the electronic scheduler.
    3. When a client has not shown for more than 2 appointments within a period of 12 months, the circumstances related to the no show will be reviewed by the supervisor and relevant clinician.  If deemed appropriate the RCHS staff person(s) involved will review the circumstances affecting the client’s ability to attend his/her appointments.  The parties involved will attempt to eliminate barriers negatively affecting attendance. If necessary clients will be called by the supervisor or designate to discuss the missed appointments
    4. Should clients continue to ‘no show’ written notice will be sent to the client and/or their primary care provider where relevant (see Appendix A and B - Frequent No Show letters).

Continued and persistent no shows may result in termination of service. Refer to policy SD-200 Terminating Client Relationships.

  1. Late Arrivals
    In the spirit of respect for all clients and health service providers of RCHS, timeliness procedures have been created to minimize the disruptions caused by late arrivals.  A client arriving late risks having a visit that fails to address all health matters optimally, and also potentially delays subsequently scheduled clients.
    1. All clients are to be encouraged to arrive ten minutes prior to the actual time of their appointments with health service providers.
    2. All clients arriving late are to be cautioned that their appointment may be shortened accordingly.
    3. In the event that a client arrives ten minutes or more past the time of their scheduled appointment the health service provider will determine whether the appointment can proceed as planned, or whether in the interests of the client and of all subsequently scheduled clients would be better served by offering to rebook the client’s appointment.
    4. Certain mitigating factors may influence the provider’s decision, such as the urgency of the reason for the appointment, the amount of time remaining in the originally booked appointment, as well as the factors causing the lateness.
    5. A recurring pattern of late arrivals with a health service provider may lead to a review of services with the provider and/or supervisor where relevant.