No-Show and Late Cancellation Policy
Updated February 15, 2022
TLDR: If you cancel after 10a the business day prior, or if you no-show, you will be charged $90.
On the surface, therapy appointments appear similar to medical appointments, and you would not be out of line for expecting to cancel or reschedule freely. Below the surface, however, our appointments are structured differently. I want to explain how they are different and why I charge for appointments that are either missed or canceled last minute.
A physician’s office might schedule between 30-40 sessions per day. They do this expecting cancellations and no-shows. As appointments might be 15 minutes, disruptions caused by canceled appointments are absorbed by patients who are asked to wait.
Myself, on the other hand, I schedule only 6 or 7 sessions per day. I devote a full 50 minutes to each patient (allowing a small break to write a note or review a record between sessions). I pride myself on respecting your schedule by starting on time. When you cancel last-minute or fail to show for your appointment, I lose an hour that I could have devoted to another patient. I don’t have anyone in the waiting room I can call in to take your place.
Therefore, my cancellation policy is as follows:
You always have a right to cancel an appointment, for any reason.
To avoid a fee, I ask that you notify me by text, email or VM by 10a of the business day prior (this implies Friday for Monday appointments). Federal holidays are not counted as a business day.
If you cancel after 10a the day prior to the appointment, or if you don’t show, you will be charged a $90 late cancellation or no-show fee, which is half of my normal fee.
Insurance will not cover this charge.
I understand that unpreventable things happen that keep you from showing, and I often grant exceptions to my policy under these circumstances. Examples include sicknesses, accidents, and family emergency matters.
Scheduling conflicts with work matters are seldom of this kind. I expect you to treat your appointment with me as a prior commitment with an importance that at least matches your work obligations.
Simple forgetting does not garner an exemption.
If you have a question about how my policy applies, please raise with me at the point of cancelling. Unless I hear from you, I will assume that the circumstances of your cancelling do not rise to a level of exemption.
My late cancellation and no-show policy reflects term I’ve carefully devised for performing my job. If they should seem a poor fit with your expectations, I’ll be glad to help you explore other treatment options.
Thank you for your clear attention to this matter.