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Our transcript of the podcast with  Jameson Files host Carrie Webber has been lightly edited for flow. To enjoy the audio conversation, you can watch on YouTube or listen to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or Spotify

Welcome to the Jameson Files. I'm your host, Carrie Webber, and I'm so happy to be back with you for another episode.

Today I want to talk about a subject that continues to be a pain point in your practices, and that is broken appointments and no-shows, and what we always call that is the hole in the bucket. You do all of this work to fill your bucket, to fill that schedule, and all it takes is a couple of holes in that scheduled bucket before the money starts pouring out of the bottom. And it’s exhausting and frustrating to keep trying to fill those voids that are coming into your schedule. 

11 Keys To Eliminating Broken Appointments

So you may be looking for that magic bullet that's going to help you reduce those broken appointments and no-shows completely forever. The bad news is, I can't stand here and tell you that you can eternally remove broken appointments and no-shows. But what you can do is start being more proactive about scheduling processes, patient experience, and communication skills. That always helps to reduce those broken appointments and no-shows. And if you have systems in place to fill the voids (should they unfortunately come your way), you can fill the holes left by canceled appointments. 

So to start things off, I want you to start thinking about your systems that support effective scheduling and the reduction of broken appointments. Then I want you to think about your skill sets: your verbal skills, your confirmation processes, your follow up processes. All of these pieces of the puzzle, when brought together, help to build a strong foundation for effective scheduling. 

One of my favorite books is Atomic Habits by James Clear. I quote it all the time, so I'm sorry if I'm gonna be repetitive here. But what Mr. Clear says is, you do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. And so if you feel like the hamster on the hamster wheel day in and day out, constantly having to battle, keeping your schedule filled, then there is a likelihood that we need to take a step back and look at the scheduling systems in your practice. What systems do you have in place in order to be effective and consistent in your scheduling experiences so that those patients you are scheduling see the value of that appointment? 

Step 1. Proactive vs Reactive Scheduling and Planning

So let's start thinking of our approach to scheduling, reducing broken appointments and no-shows, proactively instead of reactively. When something is an ongoing pain point in your practice, there’s a very high chance you are living in what we call “reactive mode.” You are entering every day prepared to be responsive to broken appointments. You know you're going to have to fill voids, turn on a dime, and manage the chaos that is going to ensue in your day. 

Our goal is to start thinking proactively about taking the offense so that we are in control of our schedule and working as a team to support the schedule and the patients’ sense of value for being a part of that schedule. And you may say, ”Yeah, yeah, easy for you to say, Carrie, you're not sitting here trying to fill voids in the schedule!”

This is where we need to look at how you're scheduling. Are you doing it effectively and in a way that leads to consistency in your daily rhythms? At Jameson we teach what we call the “essentials of scheduling.” I'm going to briefly overview what we consider some of those essentials right here. But if you want a deeper dive into the essentials of scheduling, I encourage you to go to the Grow online learning platform that we have at Jameson. There's an entire learning pathway there where one of our advisors walks you through the essentials of scheduling...