HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Patient no-shows are a costly problem for any ambulatory surgical center. Unfortunately, while some facilities are better at managing this issue than others, it continues to be a common and universal concern. One patient no-show a day can cost $26,000 a year in idle resources, not including the lost revenue (see Medbridge Transport’s Patient No-Show Costs Calculator).
Here are some other ways patient no-shows impact ambulatory surgical centers:
1. Empty time slots: The revenue potential for a medical practice depends on the number of time slots available and its ability to fill those slots. Note that an ASC is not just losing revenue, it is also paying for idle resources.
2. Staffing Imbalance: If an ASC has fewer appointments on its books than expected, it’s very likely that the facility also has more active staff on hand than needed.
3. Quality of care: If an ASC’s staff is waiting for a no-show to arrive, it likely creates delays in other areas of its schedule, which means longer wait time for patients that do arrive on time.
For a more in-depth understanding of the impact of patient no-shows, Medbridge Transport’s staff has written a white paper on how to reduce patient no-show at surgical centers. The paper covers everything from the causes of patient no-shows and the governance, people, process and services needed to mitigate its impact.
The partnership between Medbridge Transport and Houston ambulatory surgery centers solves a major issue in the healthcare space. Since lack of transportation accounts for up to 67% of no-shows, surgical centers can make a big dent in no-show rates by just tackling one issue: patient transportation. Furthermore, with nearly 4 million individuals missing medical appointments because of transportation, there is no doubt it is a big social determinant when it comes to health.
Medbridge Transport has extensive experience providing medical transportation to local health facilities and is expending its service to support day surgery centers.
For more information on Medbridge Transport, please visit medbridgetransport.com.
