How the cost is calculated
The maths is simple: appointments a month (your weekly number × 4.33) × your no-show rate × average revenue per visit, over twelve months. What’s not simple is what to make of it. The number above is lost contribution margin, not top-line revenue — in a fixed-cost practice, staff, rent and equipment are paid whether the chair is full or empty, so almost all of an empty slot’s value is genuinely gone rather than merely deferred.
What counts as a “good” no-show rate?
Honestly, there isn’t a credible universal benchmark. MGMA’s US aggregate was about 6.8% in 2023; peer-reviewed primary-care studies run anywhere from roughly 3% to 48% depending on specialty, payer mix and population. Any single “industry no-show rate” you’re quoted is worth a raised eyebrow. Set the target slider to a rate you could realistically reach and watch your own trend — the gap between where you are and where you could be is the recoverable figure.
What actually moves it
Appointment reminders are one of the few interventions that have actually been tested in randomised trials, and they hold up. Beyond that, shorter appointment lead times help, as does confirming your highest-risk slots and making rescheduling frictionless. Track the rate by day of week and by provider — a practice-wide average is the best way to hide the one Tuesday column that’s causing the problem.
Questions people ask
about this number.
WHAT IT MEANS
WHAT MOVES IT
It depends on your volume, no-show rate and revenue per visit. Roughly: appointments per month (weekly × 4.33) × your no-show rate × average revenue per visit, over 12 months. On typical numbers — 250 appointments a week, an 8% no-show rate and $190 a visit — that is around $198,000 a year. The honest figure is lost contribution margin, not top-line revenue: staff, rent and equipment cost the same whether the chair is full or empty, so most of an empty slot's value really is gone.
There is no single credible benchmark. MGMA's US aggregate was about 6.8% in 2023, while peer-reviewed primary-care studies range from roughly 3% to 48% depending on setting and population. Treat any one 'industry no-show rate' with suspicion and compare against your own trend instead.
Appointment reminders are one of the few interventions actually tested in randomised trials, and they work. Beyond that: reduce the appointment lead time, confirm high-risk slots, and make rescheduling easy. Track the rate by day of week and provider — a practice-wide average hides the one column that's actually broken.