Something came up at the last minute, and you won’t be able to keep your appointment at Ryan Health. That’s OK, things happen. We’ve all experienced it.
There’s no penalty for canceling or rescheduling an appointment. But did you know that not letting us know you need to cancel impacts our entire organization? It’s true! If you’re a no-show, there are ripple effects throughout all of Ryan Health impacting your providers and other patients.
“If you can’t make it, we always have another patient waiting who can take your slot,” says Rashanna Lynch, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Ryan Health. “But if we don’t know you’re not coming, it backs up access for other patients.”
We use technology to confirm visits at Ryan Health. We use a combination of texts, emails and phone calls to patients to confirm their appointments. But even then, patients don’t always respond to let us know if they’re coming.
There are several easy ways to cancel your appointment:
- Text, Email, and Phone Reminders: Respond to our text, email, or phone message reminders to you with Yes or No whether you can make your appointment. If you indicate No, your appointment will be canceled, and you will need to reach out to us to re-schedule.
- Healow App: Use the Healow app on your smartphone (available at the App Store or Google Play) to cancel your appointment, where you can also message your care team, see your entire chart, visit history and refill your medications.
- Online Scheduler/Call Center: If you know you can’t make it, you can always use our Online Scheduler to change your appointment or call our Call Center at 212-749-1820.
Our doctors schedule 20 minutes per patient. Sometimes the appointment takes more time, and sometimes less. We also need to plan for walk-ins, those people who don’t have appointments but need care. Our administrators are good about managing the process and filling slots, but it can get hectic for our providers.
“I’ve been here 10 years, and my no-show rate on some days is 0%,” Dr. Lynch says. “When patients are coming for routine visits, they want to see the doctor who ordered the tests, or who they’ve been conferring with about their health. Given how busy we always are, if you need to reschedule at the last minute, you might not be able to see your doctor for a few weeks.”
Ryan Health is reimbursed for the care we provide for many of our patients, but that reimbursement doesn’t happen if a patient is a no-show.
For many people, being a no-show isn’t planned, but happens because life intervened. There’s no shame in canceling an appointment. We just want to make sure you stay in the system, so you can get the care you need.
Something came up at the last minute, and you won’t be able to keep your appointment at Ryan Health. That’s OK, things happen. We’ve all experienced it.
There’s no penalty for canceling or rescheduling an appointment. But did you know that not letting us know you need to cancel impacts our entire organization? It’s true! If you’re a no-show, there are ripple effects throughout all of Ryan Health impacting your providers and other patients,.
“If you can’t make it, we always have another patient waiting who can take your slot,” says Rashanna Lynch, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Ryan Health. “But if we don’t know you’re not coming, it backs up access for other patients.”
The no-show rate at community health centers like Ryan Health ranges from 20% to 25%, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). At Ryan Health, we calculate a no-show rate of about 30%. To accommodate this no-show rate and ensure we can provide care to all our patients, we often double book some time slots.
We use technology to confirm visits at Ryan Health. We use a combination of texts, emails, and phone calls to patients to confirm their appointments. But even then, patients don’t always respond to let us know if they’re coming.
There are several easy ways to cancel your appointment:
- Text, Email, and Phone Reminders: Respond to our text, email, or phone message reminders to you with Yes or No whether you can make your appointment. If you indicate No, your appointment will be canceled and you will need to contact us to re-schedule.
- Healow App: Use the Healow app on your smartphone (available at the App Store or Google Play) to cancel your appointment, where you can also message your care team, see your entire chart, visit history and refill your medications.
- Online Scheduler/Call Center: If you know you can’t make it, you can always use our Online Scheduler to change your appointment or call our Call Center at 212-749-1820.
Our doctors schedule 20 minutes per patient. Sometimes the appointment takes more time, and sometimes less. We also need to plan for walk-ins, those people who don’t have appointments but need care. Our administrators are good about managing the process and filling slots, but it can get hectic for our providers.
“I’ve been here 10 years, and my no-show rate on some days is 0%,” Dr. Lynch says. “When patients are coming for routine visits, they want to see the doctor who ordered the tests, or who they’ve been conferring with about their health. Given how busy we always are, if you need to reschedule at the last minute you might not be able to see your doctor for a few weeks.”
Ryan Health is reimbursed for the care we provide for many of our patients, but that reimbursement doesn’t happen if a patient is a no-show. That’s lost revenue impacting how much care we can provide the community.
For many people, being a no-show isn’t planned, but happens because life intervened. There’s no shame in canceling an appointment. We want to ensure you stay in the system to get the care you need.