No-shows and late cancellations continue to plague outpatient physical therapy practices, impacting productivity, patient outcomes, and revenue generation. A comprehensive study analyzing 6,162 scheduled appointments at a Calgary-based clinic revealed that missed appointments cost the practice over $114,000 CAD in 2017 alone, with an overall no-show and cancellation rate of 20.6%. The research identified younger patients aged 12-30 and middle-aged adults (41-50) as the highest-risk groups, collectively accounting for more than half of all revenue losses. While gender showed no significant difference in attendance patterns, the study found that forgetting appointments, personal emergencies, transportation issues, and scheduling conflicts were the primary culprits. The author proposes evidence-based interventions including automated SMS reminders, enforcement of written no-show policies, and targeted patient education to reduce these rates to below 5%—a goal that could save practices hundreds of thousands of dollars annually while improving patient care outcomes.
