No-shows and late cancellations waste slots and hurt productivity. A few habits cut them down.
Reminders and confirmation
Call or text the patient (or family) the day before to confirm the visit. If they don’t answer, try again. Document the attempt. Some agencies do a morning call for same-day visits. It’s extra work but it reduces no-shows.
When to reschedule
If the patient isn’t home and you’ve tried to confirm, document and reschedule. Don’t leave a note and count it as a visit. Follow your policy on how many no-shows before you discharge for non-compliance. Tracking no-show rate by clinician or by day of week can reveal patterns (e.g. Monday mornings) so you can adjust reminders or scheduling. Pair this with visit scheduling best practices to protect capacity. We have a no-show reduction playbook you can download: reminder scripts, confirmation flow, and when to escalate. Use the button below to get it.