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What should I do after a patient cancels or no-shows?

Understand what actions you can take after a cancellation or no-show.

Updated over 2 years ago

We understand how important it is to keep your office running smoothly so we’ve taken steps to help reduce cancellations and no-shows. We send email and text reminders. We remind patients of their user obligation in our emails and we expect that patients should make every effort to uphold their confirmed appointments. We suspend patients who repeatedly cancel, do not show up to appointments, or violate our community standards. Learn more about how we prevent cancellations and no-shows.

Even so, things still happen. Here are some tips:

Be proactive in preventing cancellations

  • Contact a patient within 24 hours of the appointment booking to welcome them to your practice and answer any of their questions. Learn more about how to contact patients through Zocdoc.

  • Ensure patients have the right information (and expectations) about you. It’s important to keep your calendar and your profile, including visit reasons and insurance settings, accurate and up-to-date.

Steps to take after a cancellation or no-show

  • If a patient cancels or no-shows, follow up with the patient and help them reschedule their appointment

A note on Zocdoc’s billing policy

You should expect to pay for all new patient bookings, regardless of outcome. You only pay a one-time fee for the first booking; all future appointments with the same patient will be free. All bookings from the Book Online Button on your website are also free. Learn more about the Book Online Button.

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