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What is an empty chair actually costing you?

A no-show is an hour you cannot resell. Enter your appointment volume and no-show rate to see the annual figure — and whether a reminder programme would pay for itself.

Your numbers

Walk-ins or waitlist patients who take the empty slot. Most clinics without an active waitlist sit between 10% and 25%.

Structured reminder programmes typically cut no-shows by a third to a half. 7% is a realistic target from 12%.

Messaging costs plus any staff time for confirmation calls.

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Annual cost of no-shows

Every month

If you hit your target rate

Reminder programme payback

Net benefit is recovered revenue minus programme cost. It assumes the same backfill rate applies before and after.

You cannot sell yesterday's appointment slot. Ever.

Unlike an unpaid balance, a missed appointment cannot be chased later. The only lever is preventing it — which requires knowing your no-show rate by doctor, by day and by branch. Drapto tracks exactly that.

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Questions

About this calculator.

Is a no-show really a loss if I did not spend anything?

The consumables are unspent, but the clinical hour is gone and cannot be resold. That hour still carries rent, salary and equipment cost. It is an opportunity cost rather than a billing loss, which is why this calculator reports it separately from revenue leakage.

Why does the backfill rate matter so much?

A slot filled by a waitlist patient is not lost at all. Clinics with an active waitlist and a same-day call list routinely backfill a quarter or more of cancellations, which changes the annual number dramatically.

How much can reminders realistically reduce no-shows?

Published studies and practice experience generally show a reduction of one third to one half, with confirmation that requires a reply performing better than one-way messages. Going from 12% to under 5% is uncommon without deposits or overbooking policies.

Does Drapto send the reminders?

No. Drapto measures no-show rates, utilisation and the revenue impact by branch and by doctor. Sending reminders is handled by your practice management or messaging system.

Find the pattern behind your no-shows.

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