Non-Attendance Policy

Why the practitioners consulting from the centre have this policy.

The practitioners supported by Tyner Road Medical Centre are committed to ensuring that the best possible service is provided to their patients. They understand that it can sometimes be difficult to get a routine appointment, however, one thing that makes this increasingly difficult to overcome is the problem of missed appointments i.e., DNAs (did not attend).

It is disappointing when an appointment is not utilised, when a patient does not turn up without providing notice to their doctor.

Patient non-attendance at a booked appointment adversely impacts on practice staff, the practitioners consulting from the centre and their patients in the following manner:

·         The practitioner’s DNA patient takes the appointment of another of their patients who could of attended.
·         Increases waiting time for appointments with your practitioner.
·         The time and personnel required to follow-up and rebook your practitioner’s DNA Patients diverts Practice staff from other duties and is therefore a waste of resources.

Policy

 

As a Practice we are doing our utmost to support your practitioner and reduce their DNAs as much as possible.

A text reminder message is sent out to all patients with a mobile phone number recorded on file, 24 hours prior to their appointment (unless booked on the day).

A DNA occurs when:

  • an appointment is not attended.

  • the patient has not contacted the Practice in advance to inform their practitioner to cancel it.

  • where the cancellation is so late that it makes it impossible for the patients practitioner to allocate that time to another of their patients who needs treatment.

DNA Fee:

Due to the high demand for appointments and number
of non-attendances and cancellations for GP appointments, your practitioner may charge a fee of:
$50 per consultation
for an appointment that is not attended or not cancelled prior to a minimum of 1 hour of appointment time.

If there is an outstanding account, your practitioner may not offer further appointments until this amount has been settled. For repeat offenders, there may also be the possibility that your practitioner in their discretion of permanenty suspending you from booking appointments with them.

Avoid Becoming a DNA

If you cannot attend or no longer need an appointment, please let us know in advance.
We understand that mistakes do happen and that appointments can be forgotten or overlooked.  In such cases, the Practice will take into account the reason given by patients.  However repeated offences are unacceptable.

Preference, of course, is for the Practice to know in advance so we can offer the appointments to other patients in need.

If you need to cancel an appointment you can do this in any one of the following ways:
(1)   In person at the Reception Desk
(2)   Phone:  9801 7411
(3)   If booked online through HotDoc, cancelling online is an option.
(4) Reply N to appointment SMS reminder (sent 24 hours prior)

It is the Patient’s responsibility to:

  • Advise the Practice of any change to their contact details

  • Attend their arranged clinic appointment or reschedule with reasonable advanced notice.

To help us improve the system and make more appointments available for patients to book routinely, please adhere to our Practice Policy.