It Is Best to Have a Policy About Cancelled and Missed Appointments, and to Enforce It Consistently

Abstract

No business can run effectively and be profitable if customers do not pay for services offered. Mental health clinicians in private practice can easily go out of business if they repeatedly reserve time for clients that goes uncompensated. This chapter highlights how policies regarding cancelled and missed appointments are essential for the effective running of one’s practice. Yet, this chapter illustrates how rigidly enforcing these policies may backfire and result in harm to one’s practice and even in ethics and legal charges against the clinician. A thoughtful and sensitive approach for implementing these policies is provided. Guidance is offered on how to make decisions regarding the use of these policies and how their effective use may promote the success of one’s private practice. This chapter also explains how to effectively integrate the use of these policies into the ongoing informed consent process.