A missed appointment is more than just a gap in your diary — it’s a direct hit to your practice’s profit. Even a short amount of unused chair time each day can add up to a significant loss over the course of a year.
The Financial Cost
Let’s run the numbers:
- Average revenue per clinical hour: £225
- Time lost to FTAs per day: 30 minutes (0.5 hours)
- Revenue lost per day: £112.50 (£225 × 0.5)
If you work 5 days a week for 48 weeks a year:
- £112.50 × 5 days = £562.50 lost per week
- £562.50 × 48 weeks = £27,000 lost per year
That’s the equivalent of running more than an entire month of work for free — purely due to missed appointments.
Why They Happen
Common causes include:
- Patients forgetting the appointment.
- Unclear or inconvenient booking times.
- Appointments that were cancelled/rescheduled but not taken out of the diary
How to Reduce FTAs
1. Use Multi-Channel Reminders
Send reminders via SMS, email, and phone. Multiple touchpoints reduce the chance a patient forgets.
2. Take Deposits
Where possible, take deposits and have a clear and communicated FTA policy. Ofcourse apply goodwill and discretion also.
3. Make Rescheduling Easy
If a patient needs to change, give them a quick way to do it — a simple call, text reply, or online link.
4. Track Repeat Offenders
Identify patients who repeatedly miss appointments and apply stricter booking rules or deposits. Consider de-registering patients if practice policy allows and you feel it is appropriate.
5. Educate Patients on the Impact
Explain that missed slots could have been used for other patients — this can encourage more reliable attendance.
The Takeaway
No-shows don’t just waste time — they waste significant revenue. By improving reminders, making rescheduling simple, and holding patients accountable, you can reclaim thousands in lost income every year without seeing a single extra patient.
Action Step:
Audit your last 3 months of appointment data. Work out how many hours of FTA occurred and multiply it by your average hourly revenue. The result may surprise you — and motivate you to take action.