How do I rebook a patient who missed their LASIK consultation?
By the Margin Media team · Updated
A LASIK practice rebooks a missed consultation by contacting the patient the same day, without blame, and offering specific new times. The patient who did not show is often embarrassed and will not call you. A short, friendly text that makes rebooking a one-word reply gives them a way back that a silent practice never offers.
Why don't no-shows call back on their own?
They do not call back because they feel they have let you down. Something came up, or they lost their nerve, and now phoning the practice means explaining it. The longer the silence, the harder the call. The practice has to make the first move, and make it light.
What is the routine?
Run the same routine for every missed consultation, starting within the hour. Nobody should have to decide each time whether a patient is worth chasing.
- Wait fifteen minutes past the appointment time, then mark the consultation as missed in your calendar.
- Send a short text the same day saying you missed them and offering two new times.
- Keep the tone kind and leave out any mention of wasted time or fees in that first message.
- Call once the next day if the text gets no reply, and leave a brief voicemail.
- Send a final message a week later, then move them to your long-term follow-up list.
- Note the reason they give, so you can see patterns in why consultations are missed.
What if they miss a second time?
A second miss is information. Ask, kindly, whether the timing or the consultation itself is the difficulty. Some patients need an evening slot. Some are not ready and would prefer to be left alone for a few months. Believe what they tell you, note it, and stop offering times to someone who has asked for space.
How does Margin rebook missed consultations for a LASIK practice?
Mia, Margin's AI receptionist, texts a patient who did not show and offers to rebook. When they pick a time, it goes onto the portal calendar and the office is told. A reminder goes out the day before the new consultation.
The portal shows who showed, who missed and who was rebooked, so nobody is forgotten. These texts start once phone carriers approve your practice's texting number, which takes days to a couple of weeks. If a patient asks for a person, your team is told.
What Margin sets up for this.
- Reminders and no-show rebooking
- Booking onto your calendar
- Your portal: every call, text and booking
What a business needs is decided on its audit. It is a one-time setup fee and a monthly fee, with exact numbers on the audit.
How Margin works for cosmetic and elective medical practicesSee the portal with a sample businessThe Surgery Accelerator, for plastic surgeons
Related questions
How soon should a LASIK practice contact a patient who missed a consultation?
The same day, while the appointment is still fresh and before embarrassment sets in. A LASIK practice that waits a week is contacting someone who has had time to decide the whole idea was a mistake.
What should a LASIK practice say to a patient who did not show?
Keep it to two lines: that you missed them today, and two new times they can pick from. A LASIK practice should leave out blame and policy in the first message, because the aim is a reply.
How many times should a LASIK practice try to rebook a no-show?
Two or three contacts over a week or so is reasonable, then a longer pause. A LASIK practice should stop at once if the patient says they are no longer interested, and note it.