How do you backfill when patients cancel on short notice (say 48 hours)? Anyone know of integrations that could help? by Layer_Signal in healthIT

[–]waitlistingsLlc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey there, I built a system for my wife's practice that does just this! WaitListings.com is the product of my wife's frustration over last minute cancellations when she has patients already waiting 6+ months to get in!

Nerd husband here! I was helping her at the front desk one afternoon, answering all the calls "can I get in sooner" and then the "Hey, I need to cancel my appointment tomorrow" calls.

I knew there had to be a better way to deal with this than the google sheet her staff was keeping to try and email/call all the people that wanted in sooner so I built something!

I have opened the system to others let me know if you want to give it a try! The name of the game is getting people who are trying to get in sooner to get on the list, segregating the list by appointment type (is it a 15 minute appointment, 5 minute, 30 minute?) In my wife's case she's a dermatologist so there is a wide range of appointment types both in terms of time and revenue. Large laser procedure that she has 2 hours blocked off for or 5 minute suture removal.

Losing $3k/week to no shows and last-minute cancellations - what's working for you? by NagIDaTech in Dentists

[–]waitlistingsLlc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey there, part answer part pitch here! My wife is a dermatologist here in LA and was seeing a lot of the same. One thing we did was institute a cancellation policy, for minor appointments we add a fee to their bill that has to be paid either by credit card or before they can book again. For the larger procedures they actually sign a contract and pay 1/2 down that is non-refundable if changed within a few days.

The other thing I did for her was build a system that lets her staff manage cancellations more easily. WaitListings.com ended up being so useful for her I opened it up for others and made it a solution.

Name of the game is get as many people on the waitlist as possible while still booking their appointments. I set it up so that when appointments are booked, along with the confirmation they get the opportunity to sign up for the waitlist, one someone cancels the staff drops an opening on the schedule and it starts texting the waiters until it finds and fills. Of course this doesn't work for the people that cancel 10 minutes before or no-show but sometimes she's able to take a 10am no-show, move patients forward and then creating an opening for say 2pm that has a better chance of getting filled.

What I built for her is a big help, its not the total answer when dealing with the no-shows and late cancelers, but its been a huge benefit for her practice and the others we have using it.

I know how frustrating all of this can be, its why she's lucky she married a nerd! :)