Every private clinic I speak to has the same quiet problem. Patients book, patients do not turn up, and an hour of a practitioner’s time disappears. Reminder texts help a little. What helps far more is a small deposit taken at the moment of booking. It is one of the simplest changes a clinic can make, and in my experience one of the least used.
Why deposits work
A patient who has paid something is far more likely to turn up, or to cancel in time for the slot to be filled. The amount does not need to be large. What matters is that the commitment happens at booking, not on the day.
How to take a deposit without upsetting patients
Use a payment link. Send it by text or email as soon as the appointment is booked. The patient pays from their phone in seconds, and nobody has to read a card number down the line. Pay by Link settles with the rest of your takings.
Put the terms in writing. Say how much the deposit is, when it is refunded, and what happens if the patient misses the appointment. Patients accept clear terms far more readily than surprises.
Make the billing name recognisable but discreet. Patients care how a clinic payment looks on their statement. A name they recognise, without saying more than it needs to, avoids both embarrassment and disputes.
Want deposits by link and a card machine at reception on one account?
Treatment plans and staged payments
Dental and aesthetics treatment plans often run over several visits. Storing the card as a token at the first visit, with the patient’s agreement, lets each stage be charged without asking again. It also keeps a clean record of every payment against the plan the patient agreed.
Aesthetics treatments and medical payments
Aesthetics clinics sit between medicine and beauty. A clinic led by prescribers, with consent forms and cooling off periods, is a different business from a salon using the same treatment names. The way the clinic takes payments, and the code its account is set up with, should reflect which one it is. Our guide to clinic merchant category codes explains the options.
My view
No-show fees are the most under used tool in private healthcare. A deposit by link at booking will do more for your diary than any reminder text. Agree or disagree? Tell me on LinkedIn.