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Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Billing for a Broken Appointment

Published on Tue May 01, 2001

Question: Is there any way to bill the patient or insurance carrier for a broken appointment?

New Jersey Subscriber

Answer: Broken appointments are not paid for by insurance carriers and is a private pay situation between the neurologist and the patient. If you are going to consider instituting a policy for billing patients when they miss an appointment, this needs to be posted in the reception area where patients can see it. Also, they should be informed of this along with any other financial policies in writing including the amount that they would be charged, for example, $25 per appointment. You might also want to explain the cost to the practice for broken appointments.

However, you need to be aware that such a policy can result in bad patient relations because they may feel that they are paying for care that they did not receive, especially if you are dealing with Medicare patients who are on a fixed income. Some doctors have a member of their office staff call patients the day before their visit to remind them of their appointment and to ensure that they will be present to prevent this.
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