The aim is to find a practical question to investigate with the team. A difference in rates may reflect appointment timing, service mix, access barriers or incomplete records; the rate alone cannot explain the cause.
Start with comparable records
In Reports → Appointments, choose the completed period, location and practitioner you want to review. Jane's Appointments Report guide documents these filters and the appointment states.
Use the same scope to obtain arrived and no-show counts. Resolve unclear attendance with the appropriate team member before drawing conclusions. Export only if it helps the review, and keep patient-level records in the clinic's approved system.
Choose a period that suits the question and keep the counts visible. A fixed number of days does not guarantee enough information to identify a reliable pattern.
Use a consistent no-show definition
For consistency with the Caretrics no-show calculator, divide no-shows by arrived visits plus no-shows. The calculator expresses the result as a percentage.
This attendance-based definition excludes cancellations, future appointments and unresolved bookings. It is the definition used by this library's calculator, not a formula prescribed by Jane. If your clinic uses a different measure, label it and keep comparisons within that definition.
Review each practitioner against their own comparable periods first. When looking across the team, consider differences in service, appointment timing, patient needs and the number of included visits. Keep a small sample visible rather than turning it into a ranking.
Investigate the circumstances
Use the pattern to choose a question:
| What you notice | What to check with the team |
|---|
| Missed visits cluster at certain times | Whether the offered times suit patient availability and whether the team has relevant feedback. |
| A change appears among first visits | Booking instructions, reminder delivery and reported barriers to attending. |
| An expected reminder is absent | Clinic settings, the patient's agreed preferences and the message record. |
| Attendance records are incomplete | What happened at the appointment and who can correct the record. |
| A difference remains unexplained | Ask the practitioner and relevant team members for context before choosing an intervention. |
These checks help you investigate. They do not establish that a patient is uncommitted or that a practitioner has a rapport problem. Avoid deciding on a card requirement, coaching programme or schedule change from the rate alone.
For a communications issue, use the reminder setup guide. For a broader workflow review, use the four no-show checks.
Choose one supported change
Invented example: the manager sees repeated missed visits in a particular session. The team reviews the records and finds that a reminder's contact instruction is unclear. They agree on corrected wording, check its preview and confirm where responses will be handled.
The next review checks whether the wording was changed and whether later attendance records show a different pattern. Other changes may also have affected attendance, so record what changed alongside the comparison.
Use a short review note:
- Period and scope: [dates, location and practitioner]
- Included visit counts: [arrived and no-shows]
- Pattern worth checking: [observation]
- What the records and team confirmed: [finding]
- Next step: [change, further check or no change]
- Owner and review date: [person and date, if action remains]
Keep patient references in the approved records, not a public worksheet.
Review the result fairly
At the next review, check whether the agreed action happened and compare a suitable later period using the same definition. Explain any scope changes and keep the counts with the rate.
The purpose is a better operational decision and a useful conversation with the practitioner. Attendance, bookings and payments answer different questions. Do not convert the no-show count into claimed lost or recovered cash.
Sources and definition
Jane's Appointments Report guide, checked October 12, 2026, supports the report location, filters, states and export capability.
The attendance definition is shared with the Caretrics no-show calculator. The investigation questions, review routine and invented example are Caretrics' editorial guidance, not validated explanations of why an individual patient missed care.
Rob SaricCo-founder & CEO at Caretrics