Upholding your Cancellation Policy in your Healthcare Practice
I'm sure you've been there: all set for a smooth day at the clinic, your schedule perfectly balanced... and then, last-minute cancellations start to roll in and your day is turned upside down. It's frustrating, annoying and let's be real, really affects your bottom line (as little as 3 no shows/cancellations a week can translate into over 20k of lost revenue a year!).
Last week, we had a conversation about cancellations in the Facebook group and I want to share with you some of the conversation and tips that came out of it as cancellations can become a little bit more common this time of year!
No show/Cancellation policies are not a punishment! They are super important to ensuring you are able to have a sustainable business and be available for your clients. It’s put in place to protect you and create some accountability as to how clients treat their appointments. It’s not there to punish anyone but rather to honour your mutual commitments.
It's really important you have a clear, uncomplicated cancellation policy- not only one that people acknowledge in their consent forms but I also think it's something to go over with people verbally at their first appointment. Having this conversation is super helpful to preventing any miscommunications in the future!
We have this in place to protect a pattern of behaviour. If a client books the appointment and then doesn’t make it a priority for whatever reason that’s ok. They can choose to do that as they have already accepted the cancellation policy and know the consequences. It is super important you enforce your cancellation policy to curb resentment and job dissatisfaction.
Having a small late cancellation window (for example 4- 12 hours) likely doesn’t allow enough time for you to rebook the spot. Most late cancellation windows are at least 24 hours if not 48 hours. I also encourage a 50% fee over something more nominal that doesn't honour your lost work/time.
If you are the clinic owner, you can always use digression. I personally don’t charge if the person has experienced an emergency or something I deem well beyond their control- vehicle collision, urgent medical issue for them or family member. But I decide that case by case. I never charge someone until I've heard from them directly and know they are safe and thankfully, this is not often the case for people.
If you choose to give people one "freebie" late cancel- make sure to outline this in your policy. This can aid in your discussions with clients, for example "do you want to use your freebie this time?" or "you've already used your freebie," helping people understand they will be charged otherwise.
On that note though, we don’t have control over how people will react to being charged for a late cancel. And, I often think if someone is going to be upset because I did what I said I would do, do I really want them in my business? Should someone choose not to rebook after being charged, it’s a “love and release” for me. You don’t need that energy in your practice!
People will always be people but 9.98/10 times people totally understand it! As you continue to enforce your policy you’ll get more comfortable and confident with it and see that most times it’s no big deal!
If you're working in spaces where your cancellation policy is not being enforced, I encourage you to bring this into discussion. Ensuring your clientele respect your boundaries is critical to your fostering great therapeutic relationships.
I hope this is helpful and encourages you to continue to run your practice in a way that honours your time and boundaries. We can be of such high service to others while also ensuring we are taken care of as well.