Between 6 and 10% of medical appointments are not honored, according to the Academy of Medicine and the Order of Physicians. This represents two hours a week in a doctor’s schedule. A time that could be used to receive other patients, and thus fight against medical deserts.
Faced with this problem, the Senate added an amendment to the law of the deputy Renaissance Stéphanie Rist aimed at improving the health system. It would compensate the doctor in the event that the patient does not come to his appointment.
Posters in waiting rooms
Some online appointment booking platforms and appointment reminders software, such as Doctolib, allow healthcare professionals to send a reminder to patients, from seven days before the appointment until the day before. Delphine, a doctor, uses this system to guard against oversights by her patients. She sometimes even goes so far as to send them a text message herself the day before, “especially on Friday for Saturday, the day when there are the most oversights.
You are a doctor or health professional, how often are you subject to appointments not being honored by your patients? How does this impact your working days? What have you put in place to fight against these rabbits? Do you charge your patients for missed appointments? What do you do with your patients who have repeatedly missed their appointments?