CANCELLATIONS AND MISSED APPOINTMENTS
The patient is expected to attend each scheduled appointment on time. A cancelled or delayed appointment delays our work and can negatively impact other patients. Since your appointments involve the reservation of time specifically for you, and out of respect for your provider and our other patients, a minimum of 24 hours’ notice is required for rescheduling or canceling an appointment. We appreciate more than 24-hour notice when possible, as we can then make that time available to other patients. Therefore, if you should know before the required 24-hour notice that you will not be able to attend our appointment, PLEASE, PLEASE call the office, or text 2 to the appointment reminder so that we have time to fill your slot and can put another patient in your space that may need it. The more time, the better for the provider and other patients who are in need.
A late cancel or no-show appointment hurts at least three people: you, your provider, and another patient who could have potentially utilized your time slot. Medication management and therapy appointments are scheduled in advance and are a time reserved exclusively for our patients. When an appointment is cancelled without adequate notice, we are unable to fill this time slot by offering it to another current patient, a patient on the wait list, or a patient with a clinical emergency.
WHEN THE NO SHOW/LATE CANCEL FEE IS WAIVED
The only exception to this cancellation policy is in the event of a serious or contagious illness or emergency. We offer one grace for these purposes every six months. Some examples of emergencies are car accidents, deaths in the family or extreme illness. Work issues do not constitute emergencies. This cancellation policy also applies even if missing the appointment was an unintentional act. In the event of prohibitive weather, we can conduct the appointment on the phone or video.
FREQUENT CANCELLATIONS OR MISSED APPOINTMENT
Frequent cancellations (3 or more in 6 months or 2 consecutive) and/or missed appointments (no show) can and or will result in the termination of treatment. If you have arranged with your provider to have recurring appointments, the next recurring appointment will stay in the calendar. Therefore, please call the office if you choose to cancel that appointment to avoid a second No Show/Late Cancel charge of $50. A voicemail is sufficient as they are date and time stamped. The recurring appointment will be removed after the second consecutive No Show/Late Cancel.
Although Curtis Behavioral Health may send you text or email reminders about upcoming appointments, this is done as a courtesy and only if you consent to receive such communications by providing us with your email address and cell number. It remains your sole responsibility to keep track of and timely attend all scheduled appointments, whether or not you receive the text or email reminder. It is your responsibility to inform the office if your phone number or email has changed. After 2 consecutive cancellations or no shows, you will not be able to schedule another appointment and will be referred to another provider.
FEES FOR NO-SHOWS & LATE CANCELLATIONS
No-Show Fees: Anytime you fail to attend a scheduled appointment without giving appropriate prior notice of cancellation, you will be charged $50 for the no show appointment. The credit card information or other payment information you previously provided will be used to process this payment. By providing us with your credit card information or booking an appointment, you consent to this policy. Multiple no-shows will result in the termination of therapy.
Late Cancellation Fees: Any appointment that is missed by canceling less than 24 hours in advance will be charged a $50 fee. You will be charged even if the cancellation is work related and even if you rescheduled the appointment. The credit card information you previously provided will be used to process this payment. By providing us with your credit card information or booking an appointment, you consent to this policy. Repeated late cancellations (more than two) may result in the termination of therapy. Multiple no-shows will result in the termination of services.
You should note that insurance companies generally do not reimburse for missed appointments.
HOW 24-HOUR NOTICE WORKS
A fee of $50 will be charged when you miss or cancel an appointment without giving 24 hours advanced notice. This means that if an appointment is scheduled for 3:00 pm on a Tuesday, notice must be given by 3:00 pm on Monday at the absolute latest. Note that if your appointment is on a Monday, the cancellation needs to be provided no later than the prior Friday, by your appointment time, to be considered proper 24-hour notice. You can cancel your appointment by calling the office or replying 2 to the reminder log.
WAIT TIME/GRACE PERIOD
Your wait time is kept to a minimum. Due to the length of time provided for each appointment, it is critical that you arrive on time for your appointments. If you are more than 15 minutes late to your appointment, we may have no choice but to reschedule your appointment depending on office flow and you will be responsible for the $50 fee of a no show. To avoid paying no show fees, we require at least twenty-four (24) hours’ notice for all cancellations (as described above). Both provider and patient have a grace period of 15 minutes.
MEDICAID PATIENTS
Please note that the fees described in this policy cannot be applied for patients with Medicaid insurance. Thus, patients with Medicaid insurance who have three or more late cancellations or missed appointments will be referred to other providers should there be any indication that the pattern will continue.
Additionally, please understand that medication management and therapy services should be viewed as any other important medical appointment would be viewed. While it is a time commitment, this is for your personal betterment and consistency is key in order to achieve this. If the therapeutic relationship is terminated pursuant to this policy, your case may be reopened at any time should you so choose. However, you may be placed on a waiting list if there are other patients waiting to use your time slot. This is standard practice with most private practice offices and therapy agencies.
THANK YOU!!!
We value you as a patient and hope to help you with your future endeavors; however, we can only accomplish this with your understanding of your obligations set forth in this policy and consistency with treatment. Thank you for your understanding. Your provider looks forward to beginning this therapeutic journey alongside you!
