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No Show and Late Arrival Policy

This policy affects all UCR Health Clinics

Policy Summary
The purpose of this policy is to reduce the number of ‘No Show’ and ‘Late Arrival” patient appointments, thereby optimizing provider scheduling and availability. Included within are instructions for determining a ‘No Show’ and ‘Late Arrival’ visit with the processes and consequences that apply to the ‘No Show’ status.

Definitions
A patient will be considered a ‘No Show’ when:

  • The patient does not contact the office to cancel a scheduled appointment within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment OR
  • The patient does not attend their scheduled medical appointment without notifying UCR Health.

A patient will be considered a ‘Late Arrival’ when:

  • The patient arrives ten minutes after the scheduled appointment check-in time.

Policy Text
New Patients ‘No Show’:

  • First ‘No Show’ Appointment – The clinic staff will follow the UCR Health No Show Workflow for contacting the patient and alerting the provider that the appointment was a ‘No Show’.
  • Second ‘No Show’ Appointment – The clinic staff will follow the UCR Health No Show Workflow for contacting the patient and alerting the provider that the appointment was a ‘No Show’.
  • Third ‘NoShow' Appointment – The ‘NoShow’ patient will be dismissed. Clinic management will then send a dismissal letter alerting the patient, with a 30-day notice of termination of the physician-patient relationship.

Established Patients ‘No Show’:

  • First ‘No Show’ Appointment – The clinic staff will send an EPIC message to the provider notifying them the appointment was a ‘No Show’. Clinic staff will contact the patient by phone to determine if the patient would like to reschedule the appointment. If the patient wishes to reschedule, the appointment will be rescheduled. If the patient desires not to be rescheduled, the reason is documented in the telephone encounter and routed to the clinic manager. The patient is charged a $25.00 no-show fee. Medi-Cal and Medi-Cal HMO patients may not be charged fees per state guidelines.
  • Second ‘No Show’ Appointment – The clinic staff will send an EPIC message to the provider notifying them the appointment was a ‘No Show.’ Clinic staff will contact the patient by phone to determine if the patient would like to reschedule the appointment. If the patient wishes to reschedule, the appointment will be rescheduled. If the patient desires not to be rescheduled, the reason is documented in the telephone encounter and routed to the clinic manager. The patient is charged a $25.00 no-show fee. Medi-Cal and Medi-Cal HMO patients may not be charged fees per state guidelines.
  • Third ‘No Show’ Appointment – The clinic staff will send an EPIC message to the provider notifying them the appointment was a ‘No Show.’ The patient is charged a $25.00 no-show fee. Medi-Cal and Medi-Cal HMO patients may not be charged fees per state guidelines.
  • If a patient has 3 ‘No Show’ appointments within one calendar year, it will result in the patient being dismissed permanently from UCR Health. The dismissal will follow UC Riverside, School of Medicine Policies and Procedures Policy Title: Termination of Physician/Patient Relationship Policy Number: 950-03-016.

Late Arrival Patients New and Established:

If the patient arrives ten minutes past their scheduled arrival/appointment time, they will be informed that they can wait for another appointment opening or be rescheduled. If a patient is fifteen minutes past their arrival/appointment time, they will be rescheduled. The patient is charged a $25.00 no- show fee. Medi-Cal and Medi-Cal HMO patients may not be charged fees per state guidelines. After two late arrivals within a calendar year, a patient will be put on notice of risk of Physician / Patient Relationship. After three late arrivals within a calendar year, the patient will be dismissed permanently from UCR Health. The dismissal will follow UC Riverside, School of Medicine Policies and Procedures Policy Title: Termination of Physician/Patient Relationship Policy Number: 950-03- 016.

Responsibilities
Clinic Manager
Clinical Staff
Patient
Physician

Forms/Instructions
Patient will sign a one-time acknowledgement confirming receipt of the No show / Late Arrival Policy.