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What missed patient calls cost

Free tool · Health

Every unanswered call can be a new patient who books somewhere else. See what those calls are worth and whether an answering service pays for itself.

Count calls nobody answered, voicemails included. Your phone system report shows this number.
Out of every 10 missed calls, how many come from people who are not your patients yet? Two out of 10 is 20%.
What a typical visit brings in after insurance pays. The same number you use for no shows works here.
Use your own average. A dental patient may come twice a year and a therapy patient may come twelve times.
The monthly price of the service you are comparing, from the quote you were given. Example: 300.
Out of every 10 calls you miss today, how many would the service answer and book? Start with a careful number, such as 40%.

New patient value at risk a month

$5,720

At these numbers

The service pays for itself. It recovers about $7.63 for every dollar you spend.

Recovered by the service a month

$2,288

Net a month

$1,988

Recovered for each $1 you spend

$7.63

Missed calls a month it must book to break even

12 calls

Value of one new patient in the first year

$330

New patient value at risk a year

$68,640

An estimate for planning. Check the numbers with your accountant before you decide.

How the math works

Value of one new patient = revenue per visit × visits in the first year. Value at risk a month = missed calls a week × new patient share × that value × 52 ÷ 12. It counts new patients only.

Recovered a month = value at risk × the share the service would book. Net a month = recovered − the monthly price. Recovered for each $1 = recovered ÷ the monthly price.

Break even = the monthly price ÷ (new patient share × new patient value × booked share), rounded up. The service pays for itself once it books that many missed calls a month.

The example is a clinic that misses 20 calls a week, with 20% from new patients worth $110 a visit for 3 visits, against a $300 a month service that books 40%. All of these are example numbers.