The aim is a clear process for patients and staff. Choose terms that fit your clinic, make room for questions and exceptions, and check how any applicable fee will be handled. Have the clinic owner approve the terms before use; a published policy, an acknowledgement and permission to charge a card each need their own check.
Decide the terms before copying the template
Write down:
- How much notice patients need to give, and how they can cancel or reschedule.
- What applies to a late cancellation and to a missed appointment without notice, including when no fee applies.
- Who can approve an exception, and how a patient can ask for a review.
- How any applicable fee will be explained and paid.
Choose terms your team can apply consistently. Avoid copying an escalation rule or notice period simply because another clinic uses it. Jane’s online late-cancellation period is clinic-wide; it cannot be set separately for each appointment type. Keep that limit in mind if your written policies differ.
A cancellation policy to adapt
Sample wording, written for this guide. Replace every placeholder and remove any clause your clinic does not use. The notice period and fee rules are deliberately left for your clinic to decide.
Appointments, cancellations and missed visits
To cancel or reschedule, please [contact route] at least [notice period] before your appointment. You can reach [clinic name] at [phone number / contact details].
If you cancel with less notice, [late-cancellation fee rule]. If you miss an appointment without cancelling, [no-show fee rule].
If illness, an emergency or another circumstance prevents you from attending, contact us when you can. [Explain how exceptions are reviewed and who makes the decision.]
We will explain any applicable fee and how to pay it. If you believe a fee has been applied incorrectly, contact [review contact] so we can check the appointment and policy with you.
Keep a dated, approved version for the team to refer to. This sample does not provide card-charge authorisation wording; check the clinic’s payment agreement separately.
Match the wording and online cancellation controls
In Settings > Language, review the cancellation wording used for online booking, the booking agreement and emails. Use the approved terms consistently across those fields, the clinic website and front-desk explanations.
Next, open Settings > Online Booking and find the cancellation controls:
- Late Cancellation Period: match the notice period in the policy. Outside Jane’s brief booking grace period, patients inside this window are prompted to contact the clinic to cancel.
- Allow Cancellations: check whether patients can cancel or reschedule through their portal. Disabling it generally directs them to contact the clinic.
Use Jane’s cancellation settings instructions. A portal restriction changes how a patient cancels; it does not establish that a fee should be charged.
Jane also has a three-minute booking grace period in which a newly booked appointment can be cancelled despite the normal restrictions. Account for this when checking the patient experience, rather than treating an immediate cancellation as a policy breach. See the grace-period guide.
A Full Access user can open Settings > Forms & Surveys > View Forms, edit the relevant intake form and review its Consents tab. Check the policy text and the acknowledgement type. If you changed the policy in Language, copy the current wording into the consent too; Jane warns that the intake form may otherwise retain the default text. Use the intake-form guide, then preview the form before changing how it is sent.
For clinics using Jane Payments, the policy may also appear when patients add a card through an intake form. If that card section is optional, patients can skip it, so inspect your separate policy consent. Jane’s fee and consent guide describes this setup.
Before relying on an acknowledgement for a particular appointment, check the completed record and which policy the patient saw. Saving a card does not, by itself, authorise a particular fee or charge.
Apply a fee only after checking the appointment
A Full Access user can manage no-show and late-cancellation fee options in Settings > Fees. Check that those options match the approved policy, including the option your team uses when waiving a fee. See Jane’s fee setup.
When reviewing a missed visit, check the appointment status, cancellation timing, policy acknowledgement, any applicable exception and the existing invoice before applying a fee. Jane’s late-cancellation workflow shows where a cancellation and its fee are recorded.
Keep the billing result precise. Jane can generate an invoice for a no-show or late cancellation; collecting payment is a separate step in its payment workflow. Confirm any card-charge authorisation before taking payment. Record fees applied, waived and paid separately so an invoice is not reported as money collected.
Check that the policy is ready for your team
Use previews, an approved test account or an existing permitted record to check:
- Every placeholder is replaced, and the notice period and fee rules agree across wording, portal settings and intake forms.
- A patient can find the contact route and understand how to request an exception or review.
- Staff know where to check acknowledgement and payment authorisation, and who decides disputed fees.
- The team can distinguish an applied fee, a waiver and a posted payment.
Your policy is ready when its wording, settings and forms agree, and your team can explain both the usual rule and the exception process. A preview confirms what the form displays; it does not establish that a patient acknowledged it. Record the version checked, the reviewer and any remaining issue before putting the policy into use.
If your policy includes a card requirement, review card-on-file setup and its booking scope. For handling an opening after a cancellation, use the waitlist guide.
Sources
Official Jane guides checked October 4, 2026:
Rob SaricCo-founder & CEO at Caretrics