A patient books an appointment, puts it on the calendar, and even plans around it. But as the day creeps closer, the thought of actually going starts feeling like a hassle. Now sure, everyone has been guilty of these thoughts before, right? Maybe they had to wait months just to get in, and now they’re dreading the long wait times, the paperwork is getting on their nerves while they battle it out with their health insurance company (which is sadly far too common nowadays), or the back-and-forth between offices. Suddenly, canceling seems like the easiest option. Here, we’ve listed 3 main reasons patients could be cancelling appointments at the very last minute.
By Team Savant
Image: Bermix Studio
Now sure, last-minute cancellations happen all the time, and it’s usually not because someone just doesn’t feel like going. Actually, very rarely is it due to something like that. More often, it’s frustration, stress, or a system that makes healthcare harder than it needs to be. Overall, patients don’t wake up deciding to cancel—it’s something that builds up as the appointment gets closer.
Endless Phone Tag Between Providers
Have you ever tried calling a doctor’s office and actually getting an answer on the first try? In a way, it feels like winning the lottery, right? Okay, so now imagine a patient needs to coordinate between two different offices, calling one, waiting for a callback, calling another, and then hoping someone connects the dots. It’s exhausting, and it gets people in a bad mood too.
For many, it’s easier to just cancel than deal with the headache. Nobody wants to spend days chasing down records, verifying referrals, or wondering if their test results actually made it to the right place (some practices will do this for the patient but not all of them). But thankfully more healthcare practices are improving on this, for example, cloud based radiology is making a huge difference since that alone means that the practices and the patient don’t need to “play detective” to track down imaging results.
Plus practices can immediately get access to patient records instantly making the process way smoother for everyone involved (and cheaper too if you think about it).
There’s the Fear of Getting Double-Billed
Nobody likes surprise bills. And in healthcare, those surprises can be expensive. Actually, a lot of patients have learned the hard way that just because insurance covered something once doesn’t mean they’ll cover it again.
Just take scans, for example. A patient gets an MRI at one office, only to visit a specialist who orders the exact same scan because they don’t have access to the original. Insurance companies don’t always see a duplicate test as necessary, which means the patient could get stuck with the bill. So, if a patient suspects they’re walking into a situation where they might have to pay for something twice, canceling suddenly seems like a pretty smart move.
Feeling Like Just Another Name on a List
Nobody wants to feel like an afterthought. If a patient has been on hold forever, left multiple messages, or had a rushed appointment last time, it’s easy for them to think, “Does it even matter if I show up?” Even though you’re a healthcare facility, you’re still a business, and customer service matters.
When patients feel valued, they’re much more likely to keep their appointments. So a simple confirmation call where the staff actually check-in, not just a robotic reminder, can actually make a big difference. Even something as small as a friendly front-desk interaction can change the way a patient feels about their visit. If people feel like they’re just another name on the schedule, skipping the appointment starts to feel like no big deal.