Photo courtesy of Dr. Laurie Sorrenson. Dr. Dipa Kodukula from Dr. Sorrenson’s practice is seen in the photo looking frustrated with no-shows for appointments. Dr. Sorrenson shares what worked for reducing her practice’s no-show rate.
Tricks of the trade to reducing your no-show rate.
By Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO
June 4, 2025
One thing I hear frequently about from other optometrists is their struggle with no-show rates.
I wrote an article recently about “looking in the mirror” when you have a challenge. It is so easy to blame our patients and get upset with them for no-showing for an appointment. It is frustrating, for sure!
The Challenge
This is a struggle that many in the medical field can relate to. Data show that no-show rates can range from 10% to upwards of 30% across the health care spectrum.1 More specifically, a no-show rate of around 5-6% in optometry is often considered low, but even that can translate into lost revenue and wasted resources. Think about it… if you have a 10% no-show rate and you can reduce that no-show rate to 2%…That is 8% growth!!! What the heck??!!? That is a great way to grow your practice!
The question then becomes: how can we effectively reduce our no-show rate and ensure our patients receive the care they need?
Potential Solutions
One important step in reducing your no-show rate is using an automated reminder system, like Solutionreach, Weave, Aloha, Adit or another similar technology (there are many to choose from). Implementing a robust reminder system is not just about sending a polite nudge; it’s about strategically communicating with patients. Let me tell you how we significantly decreased our no-shows.
In our practice, we experimented with the timing and frequency of our reminders to find the perfect balance. Initially, we were sending emails only a day or two before appointments, and our no-show rate was between 7-9%. We decided to do some experimenting.
Many of you already know my “three month” mantra. Try something for three months, track it, then decide to either tweak, eliminate or continue. After a year of experimenting, this is how we now remind our patients of their upcoming appointments: email reminders seven days prior, three days before and the day before the appointment. Our text strategy includes reminders sent seven days prior, one day before and one hour before the appointment. This layered approach is what gave us the best no-show rate.
Email: 7 days, 3 days, 1 day
Text: 7 days, 1 day, 1 hour
Probably the biggest change we made during this experimentation phase was altering our timeline for the final reminder. We adjusted the standard two-hour reminder to only one hour before the appointment. The result? Our no-show rate dropped from an already solid 4% at that point to under 2% in most months! What I found out is that when you have a two-hour reminder, patients who have an early appointment do not get the reminder the day of! They get it the night before! Switching it to one hour before ensures that the patient gets the reminder the day of, and an hour is enough time for most people to wrap up what they are doing and get to the office on time.
While our system changes positively impacted our practice, an essential lesson I learned throughout this process was the importance of not being swayed by outlier feedback. Some patients may express that they feel overwhelmed by the number of texts or emails. When faced with such feedback, it can be tempting to rethink your entire system based on a few voices. Your staff may come to you and tell you that you are getting lots of complaints.
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If you send messages to 200 patients every month and you have one to two per week complain…that is not enough incentive to change your whole system. My friend, John Todd Cornett, OD, says, “Don’t practice to the outliers!”
Our staff is trained to respond with: “That’s horrible. We can turn off the texts and emails if you would like. We can also just turn off one or the other.” Most of the time, patients realize that these reminders are for their benefit and defer their requests. It’s a simple way to acknowledge their concerns while maintaining the integrity of a system that is working well for the majority.
Bottom Line: Make Sure You Have an Automated Reminder System
In summary, my recommendation is first to make sure you have an automated reminder system. Secondly, experiment with when and how often to remind patients (track for three months), and third, don’t be swayed by the outlier complaints. Fourth, realize reducing your no-show rate by 2% means you just created 2% growth!
- Automated reminder system
- Experiment and track
- Don’t change based on outliers
- Reducing No-Show Rate = Growth!
More growth, more profit, better patient care! Win Win Win!!!
References
1. Evaluating the Impact of Patient No-Shows on Service Quality
Read another column by Dr. Sorrenson
Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO, is president of Lakeline Vision Source in Cedar Park, Texas, and the Professional Editor of Review of Optometric Business (ROB). To contact her: lsorrenson@gmail.com.
