What does Chronic No Show mean?

Please note that a chronic no show is different depending on the service (see below):

Medical/Ryan White: 3 missed appointments within a 6 month time period
CESH: 3 consecutive standing (weekly and bi-weekly) appointments missed within a 3 month time period
SUD: 3 consecutive missed appointments within a 2 month period
Dental: 3 missed appointments within a 6 month time period

What type of Warning Notifications will I receive?

2 missed Appointments:
Appointment is made with verbal notification provided of THC’s No Show Process indicating consequences if 3 missed appointments are noted within 6 months

3 missed: No appointment scheduled
Patient is verbally notified of THC’s No Show Process indicating they will be unable to be placed on the providers schedule but instead will now be placed on Nurse’s schedule. Once the patient arrives at the appointed time, he/she will be worked into the Providers schedule which could result in extended wait times.

What is the probation time frame?

Two consecutive kept visits permits patient to resume normal scheduling policy on the provider schedule

Why do we need a No Show Policy?

Patients who schedule clinic appointments and fail to keep them have a negative impact on patient care, productivity, patient education and the organization’s financials. The No Show process is designed to minimize disruptions in the scheduling process and disruptions in delivery of care. The No Show process is ultimately intended to improve both the health and quality of life of our patients by increasing access to care.

It is the policy of Total Health Care (THC) to inform patients of the importance of keeping appointments and the expectation that they will call to cancel as soon as they know they will be unable to keep the appointment.
Under certain conditions, the patient may be prevented from scheduling future appointments, but not from receiving care. Patient will sign acknowledgement of the no show process during patient registration.

Each patient should receive and sign the Patient Rights and Responsibilities form upon registering as a patient of the center according to the policy and procedure regarding Patient and Center Rights and Responsibilities. Patients should specify their preferred method for contact.

*Please note that the No Show Policy varies based on the service you are seeking. See below:

What is the No Show Policy for Medical, Dental, Infectious Disease & Ryan White?

• THC staff member will access patient’s Appointment History at the time an appointment is requested
  • For Missed Appointments:
    • First Missed Appointment – The appointment will be scheduled on the provider’s schedule and the patient will be informed:
      • It has been noted that you have missed a prior appointment without cancelling in advance. Keeping your appointment is very important to maintain your health. Additionally, when we schedule appointments, we set aside time and resources to meet your needs. When a patient fails to show up for an appointment or fails to cancel within 24 hours of the appointment time, it blocks our schedule and other patients that are in need of medical care are unable to be seen as that appointment time was held for the scheduled patient. Please make every effort to keep this appointment. You will receive an appointment reminder call/text/email which will give you the option to cancel if you are unable to make your appointment. Please note that three consecutive missed (no Show) appointments will result in a patient being placed on our Providers schedule with a tentative appointment time to be worked into the providers schedule which could result in extended wait times to be seen by a patients provider.

• Second Missed Appointment:
  • It has been noted that you have missed TWO prior appointments without cancelling in advance. Keeping your appointment is very important to maintain your health. Additionally, when we schedule appointments, we set aside time and resources to meet your needs. When a patient fails to show up for an appointment or fails to cancel within 24 hours of the appointment time, it blocks our schedule and other patients that are in need of medical care are unable to be seen as that appointment time was held for the scheduled patient. Please make every effort to keep this appointment. You will receive an appointment reminder call/text/email which will give you the option to cancel if you are unable to make your appointment. Please note that three consecutive missed (no Show) appointments will result in a patient being placed on our Providers schedule with a tentative appointment time to be worked into the providers schedule which could result in extended wait times to be seen by a patients provider.

• Third Missed Appointment:
  • It has been noted that you have missed THREE consecutive appointments without cancelling in advance. Total Health Care has a 3 No Show appointment policy which has altered your ability to schedule appointments with your provider. At this time, I can only provide you with an appointment at a tentative time. Once you arrive for your appointment, you will be worked into the provider’s schedule which might lead to an additional wait time.

How can one get off of the Chronic No Show list for future appointments?

Once a chronic no show patient has kept two consecutive appointments, they will be able to return to THC’s normal scheduling policy.

*Please note that the No Show Policy varies based on the service you are seeking. See below:

What is the No Show Policy for Medical, Dental, Infectious Disease & Ryan White?

• THC front desk staff will access the patient’s Appointment History at the time an appointment is requested
  • For Missed Appointments:
    • First Missed Appointment – The appointment will be scheduled with the appropriate provider and the patient will be informed:
      • I see that you missed your previous appointment without cancelling in advance. It is very important to keep your appointments to ensure you can get the care you need. Please make every effort to make this next appointment. You will receive an appointment reminder call/text/email which will give you the option to cancel if you are unable to make your appointment. You can also call any of our sites to cancel your appointment at any point. Please note that if you fail to make this appointment without canceling it can be difficult for you to reschedule for your preferred day and time.

• Second Missed Appointment – The appointment will be scheduled with the appropriate provider and the patient will be informed:
  • I see that you missed TWO previous appointments without cancelling in advance. It is very important to keep your appointments to ensure you can get the care you need. Please make every effort to make this next appointment. You will receive an appointment reminder call/text/email which will give you the option to cancel if you are unable to make your appointment. You can also call any of our sites to cancel your appointment at any point. Please note that if you fail to make this appointment without canceling it can be difficult for you to reschedule for your preferred day and time and you may need to wait a while to get an appointment. In addition, if you have a standing appointment time with your therapist, you may need to be taken off this schedule until you are able to attend THREE consecutive appointments. You can discuss this with your therapist to get more details about this.

• Third Missed Appointment – The appointment will be scheduled with the appropriate provider and the patient will be informed:
  • I see that you missed THREE appointments in a row without cancelling in advance. It is very important to keep your appointments to ensure you can get the care you need. Please make every effort to make this next appointment. You will receive an appointment reminder call/text/email which will give you the option to cancel if you are unable to make your appointment. You can also call any of our sites to cancel your appointment at any point. Please note that if you fail to make this appointment without canceling it will be difficult for you to reschedule for your preferred day and time. In addition, if you have a standing appointment time or an upcoming psychiatric evaluation, you will be removed from the schedule until you are able to attend THREE consecutive appointments with your therapist. Further, you will not be able to attend any medication management appointments until you attend an appointment with your therapist. You can discuss this with your therapist to get more details about this and to come up with a plan to address this.

How can one get off of the Chronic No Show list for future appointments?

Once a chronic no show patient keeps THREE consecutive appointments, they will be able to return to THC’s normal scheduling policy.

What is the No Show Process for Center of Emotional and Social Health?

• THC front desk staff will access the patient’s Appointment History at the time an appointment is requested
  • For Missed Appointments:
    • First Missed Appointment – The appointment will be scheduled with the appropriate provider and the patient will be informed:
      • I see that you missed your previous appointment without cancelling in advance. It is very important to keep your appointments to ensure you can get the care you need. Please make every effort to make this next appointment. You will receive an appointment reminder call/text/email which will give you the option to cancel if you are unable to make your appointment. You can also call any of our sites to cancel your appointment at any point. Please note that if you fail to make this appointment without canceling it can be difficult for you to reschedule for your preferred day and time. In addition, you will need to discuss the importance of making your appointments with your counselor and come up with a plan to address this.

• Second Missed Appointment – The appointment will be scheduled with the appropriate provider and the patient will be informed:
  • I see that you missed TWO previous appointments without cancelling in advance. It is very important to keep your appointments to ensure you can get the care you need. Please make every effort to make this next appointment. You will receive an appointment reminder call/text/email which will give you the option to cancel if you are unable to make your appointment. You can also call any of our sites to cancel your appointment at any point. Please note that if you fail to make this appointment without canceling it can be difficult for you to reschedule for your preferred day and time. In addition, if you have a standing appointment time with your counselor, you may need to be taken off this schedule until you are able to attend TWO consecutive appointments. You can discuss this with your counselor to get more details about this and to come up with a plan to make your appointments. Further, if you are being dosed by our nursing staff, you may be required to wait later in the day to receive your medication.

• Third Missed Appointment – The appointment will be scheduled with the appropriate provider and the patient will be informed:
  • I see that you missed THREE appointments in a row without cancelling in advance. It is very important to keep your appointments to ensure you can get the care you need. Please make every effort to make this next appointment. You will receive an appointment reminder call/text/email which will give you the option to cancel if you are unable to make your appointment. You can also call any of our sites to cancel your appointment at any point. Please note that if you fail to make this appointment without canceling it will be difficult for you to reschedule for your preferred day and time. In addition, if you have a standing appointment time, this will be canceled and you will need to attend TWO consecutive appointments to get a standing appointment time again. Further if you are dosed by our nursing staff, you will be dosed later in the day during the second shift of dosing, meaning you may need to wait a while. You can discuss this with your counselor to get more details about this and they will assist you with coming up with a plan to address this.

How can one get off of the Chronic No Show list for future appointments?

Once a chronic no show patient keeps TWO consecutive appointments, they will be able to return to THC’s normal scheduling policy.