How a Patient Attendance Predictor with Engagement Can Reduce No-Shows

It’s no secret that patient no-shows are a drain to medical practices like yours. In fact, you lose an estimated $200 in revenue for every missed appointment. Unfortunately, that’s part of owning a medical or mental health care practice. But what if there was a simple, streamlined way to reduce patient no-shows and make your practice more profitable?

Believe it or not, there is. 

The best way to keep your schedule full is to keep your schedule full. But how do you do that when patients continue to miss appointments? So, when thinking about how to reduce patient no shows the key is to predict them.

While this may seem impossible, we’ve figured it out at Mend. The patented technology in our Attendance Predictor has cracked the code. 

The Closer Look at the Negative Impact of No-Shows

Missed appointments affect productivity and profitability. But the negative effects extend beyond your practice. Considering the $200 per appointment revenue loss, reducing no-shows must be a priority. 

The Monetary Impact

Missed appointments equate to over $850 thousand in lost revenue annually for a 10-provider practice. If you consider the entire healthcare industry, that’s a $150 billion loss per year. 

Loss in revenue stems from:

• Empty appointment slots
• Unnecessary staffing expenses
• Patients unsatisfied with scheduling challenges
• Decreased patient attendance

When patients don’t show up, you can’t run an efficient practice. Without the necessary tools to predict and reduce patient no-shows, you’re just spinning your wheels.

And losing money.

The Patient Health Impact

An impact of patient no-shows is that patients are not getting medical attention. A 2019 study of one million patients revealed shocking data about missed appointments. 

The study’s results showed:

• patients who attended all appointments had an attrition rate of 19%
• patients with a missed appointment had an attrition rate close to 70%
• patients who did not show for one or more appointments were less likely to return over the next 18 months

Missing appointments is damaging to patients’ health. The study above shows they’re likely to miss more when they miss one appointment. 

That means:

• they miss screenings that could detect medical issues
• acute illnesses could worsen or become chronic
• ongoing care is disrupted
• doctors cannot monitor medications
• doctors cannot adjust medications

Reducing no-shows gives your patients a greater chance of getting and staying healthy. Patient attendance benefits both your bottom line and their health. 

View the Guide to Eliminating No-Shows

Patient No-Shows: Who and Why

Who

Using data from EHR, the University of Missouri completed a study to identify which patients are missing appointments. Their research found that the following groups were more likely to miss medical appointments.

• young, single men
• patients with appointments outside of active public transportation hours
• patients living 19-60 miles away 

This is just a small sample of who will miss their appointments. And it’s not an accurate predictor. To predict and reduce patient no-shows, you need Mend’s advanced AI.

Why

There are many reasons why patients may miss an appointment. The five most common reasons for no-shows are:

• Forgetfulness: People forget! They can get caught up in their busy schedules. Or maybe they forget to cancel. This is the number one reason for no-shows.

• Time: Many appointments are scheduled in advance. Patient availability may have changed when the appointment date approaches. 

• Cost: Copays, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs can be expensive. Rather than feel embarrassed about an inability to pay, patients may not show up.

• Fear: Some patients may choose to miss appointments. They may want to avoid bad news, procedures, or disapproval from their provider.

• Demographics: Patients who speak another language may skip appointments because they can’t reach with their doctor’s office. Elderly patients may not be able to make it if they lack transportation. 

Whatever the reason, you can’t avoid patients not showing up. But thanks to Mend’s automated workflow solutions and Attendance Predictor, you can reduce no-shows.

Mend’s Attendance Predictor: Your Answer to Reducing No-Shows

Optimizing schedules and increasing productivity has never been easier. After 10,000,000+ AI training simulations, our Attendance Predictor can reduce no-shows with up to 99% accuracy. 

Before we came on the scene, that was unheard of. 

We’ve helped medical and mental health practices expand access to care using digital tools since 2014. But 2020 led to an increase in our innovation. We scaled our telehealth offerings and introduced the industry’s first AI-powered no-show predicting solution. 

Our innovative Attendance Predictor can help you reduce no-shows resulting in a more profitable, streamlined practice. 

1. Accurate Algorithm

When one of your patients books an appointment, our Attendance Predictor gets to work. The initial algorithm predicts with 90+% accuracy. Then the algorithm runs millions of times, adjusting to your practice. 

The algorithm within our Attendance Predictor takes several factors into account. Then it defines the possibility of patient no-shows:

• Day of the week and year for appointment
• Time of appointment
• Appointment type
• Appointment approval and confirmation
• Click and open notification history
• Gender
• History and time of last Mend login
• History of missed and made appointments
• Total number of appointments
• Age
• Provider specialty

The refined algorithm adapts to your patients’ actions and non-actions to predict and reduce no-shows. But the great thing about it is you don’t have to spend time inputting data. The basic demographic and appointment data can be accessed from your master scheduling system. 

Our patient Attendance Predictor’s advanced algorithm provides a score for each patient. This score is displayed on your dashboard. It gives you actionable insight for next steps.

The scores range from “Highly Likely” to “Highly Unlikely.” 

2. Smarter Patient Engagement

Your patients are busy. Confirming their appointment may not be at the top of their to-do list. And if they have to cancel and reschedule, that takes even more effort. 

Unless you make it easier. 

Our Attendance Predictor is unique because it allows for smarter patient engagement. Our system knows when and how to nudge your patient. A little nudging goes a long way to reduce no-shows. 

Depending on your patient’s initial score, our system will give them more chances to engage.

For example, if your patient has a “Highly Likely” score, they’ll receive a specific notification. This message may be as simple as a reminder of their appointment date and time. 

If they have a high-risk score, their patient engagement will look different. They may receive a reminder to confirm or cancel. Their score will change when they take action, depending on what they do or don’t do.

This tailored patient messaging can help you drastically reduce no-shows.

3. Optimized Scheduling

Our Attendance Predictor scores every one of your patients. It updates those scores with each interaction. That means your practice can look at your schedule days or weeks in advance. As a result, you know which patients are most likely to attend. Data like this has never been available in the past. With Mend’s scheduling solutions, you’ll have the most optimized schedule. That helps you reduce no-shows. It also puts more patients in your office (or telehealth office), and more profits in your pocket. 

4. Automated Reminders

Making sure your staff reminds patients takes valuable time and effort. With the help of our automated reminders, you won’t have to worry. 

The Mend Attendance Predictor continuously analyzes patient actions. Patients most at risk for missing appointments will get the proper number of reminders. That means less busy work for your staff and a reduction in no-shows.

5. Integrated Digital Medical Forms

One important aspect of determining no-shows is whether patients complete their intake forms. Patients don’t want to fill out PDFs on clipboards. It can be time-consuming and confusing. 

That’s another valuable feature of our advanced care platform. It gives your patients another chance to engage through digital intake forms. Research shows that patients who complete forms are 98-99% more likely to attend their appointment. You’ll be better equipped to predict and reduce no-shows by offering digital intake forms.

6. Alternative Telemedicine Options

If your patient is likely to be a no-show, our Attendance Predictor offers HIPAA-compliant telehealth options. And our telehealth appointments have low no-show and cancellation rates. 

Here at Mend, we have the most robust telehealth workflows. Our connection rate is 99+%. We provide instant support for both patients and providers. 

You may have patients on the fence about attending their in-person appointment. In that case, our Attendance Predictor gives them a convenient HIPAA compliant option. And quite often, this helps reduce no-shows. 

7. Easy Access to Scheduling

Our research shows that patients who schedule their own appointments are less likely to miss them. That’s why we made sure our digital management system allows for easy scheduling and rescheduling.

Your patients can schedule and reschedule appointments 24/7/365, and there’s less of a chance to no-show. When patients have a conflict, they can easily let you know.

Mend’s Attendance Predictor can integrate with almost any EHR or PMS. 

8. Efficiently Overbooked Timeslots

You might think overbooking your schedule is a bad idea. Without our Attendance Predictor, that might be the case. But with the data provided by our software, you can double-book with accuracy. 

When “Highly Unlikely ” patient “A” books an appointment, you can book “Highly Likely” patient “B” at the same time. This keeps your schedule full and reduces no-shows. 

9. Smart Appointment Reminders

Not all of your patients want to receive appointment reminders the same way. Some prefer text, some prefer an email or call. With our intelligent predictor, you won’t have to figure out preferences. And when patients receive proper reminders, you’ll reduce no-shows.

Patient appointment reminder preferences can be pulled from your EHR. Your patients will receive the proper reminders via the desired channels. 

10. Fully Branded Extra Features

Everything your patients receive will feature your branding. Your patients will know exactly who the communication is from. 

And that extends beyond reminders. With our comprehensive healthcare management system, your patients will also receive:

• post-visit surveys
• HIPAA secure messaging
• recalls
• calendar invites
• location address to Google Maps
• and more!

11. Seamless EHR/PMS Integration

Mend integrates with all major EHRs, so you don’t have to worry about inputting any other details. To help you reduce no-shows, Mend gathers appointment details and sends out reminders. 

Mend can also update the master schedule in your EHR or PMS with schedule changes. This eliminates missed appointments. It also gives you the chance to fill “high-risk for cancellation” timeslots. 

Get the Closest Thing to 100% No-Show Prediction

You may not be able to reduce no-shows to zero. Predicting them with as much as 99% accuracy is the closest you’ll get. Our state-of-the-art AI is like nothing you’ve seen before. 

With Mend, you can:

• predict no-shows
• optimize appointment schedules
• eliminate sending appointment reminders
• improve overall productivity
• increase profitability 

And you can do all this without hassle. Integrating Mend into your EHR and PMS is easy. There’s no additional information to input. No lengthy training sessions. No wasted time learning how to use a new system. 

Eliminating costly missed appointments and creating a streamlined workflow is simple with Mend. All you need to do to reduce no-shows is request a free demonstration. After that, we’ll walk you through integrating it into your existing system. 

From there, you’ll only have to focus on what you do best –– providing high-quality medical care to your patients. Schedule a Free Demo Today!