cancellation Policy
Clients are informed of this policy at the time of booking and acknowledge the need to pay a late cancellation or reschedule fee when filling in their initial consult information sheet. They will receive a text message 72 hours prior to their appointment which also reminds them of their appointment.
Aim:
The aim of this policy is:
To reduce disruptions to the psychologists’ diaries and loss of psychologists’ time in preparation because of client late cancellations, late rescheduled and missed appointments.
Make sure that other clients do not miss out on the opportunity to access therapy.
Reduce the income loss as a direct result of client cancellations, late rescheduled and missed appointments. We are a private practice, therefore if a client cancels or reschedules late or does not arrive for their scheduled appointment the psychologist loses income.
To reduce the level of late cancellations, late rescheduled and missed appointments.
Policy Rationale
Sometimes there are good reasons for cancelling or rescheduling appointments. However, unlike brief medical appointments, it is impracticable to fill a psychology appointment that runs for 50 minutes at short notice. If several clients are late in cancelling, or reschedule or miss their appointments in one day, then the practice/psychologist loses a large amount of their income. Imagine if a salaried employee was told they would only receive half of their salary for that day? If you consider the situation in these terms, as well as the overhead costs associated with private practice, then you can understand why we must charge a cancellation fee for late cancellations, late rescheduled appointments and missed appointments. Please note that Medicare or health insurance rebates are not applicable to cancellation fees. Workcover/Motor Vehicle Accident claimants: not all insurers cover the fee of a cancelled appointment, therefore you may be charged a cancellation or non-arrival fee where your insurer does not cover cancelled appointments. In some cases where they do cover the appointment fee you may lose that session.
If for some reason you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please allow a minimum of 48 business hours’ notice, i.e. call, SMS or email prior to 9.00 am the day before your appointment; if your appointment is at 9.00am on a Monday, you must cancel prior to 9.00am on the Thursday prior, otherwise you will incur a fee. Cancellation fees will be calculated at 100% of regular session fee for appointments cancelled within 48 business hours or no-show appointments.
** New Clients: A 100% deposit (NON-REFUNDABLE) is required to secure your booking **
** NDIS Clients - Late cancellation fees are charged at 100% as per NDIS guidelines **
You should note that calling is the most effective way to ensure we receive appropriate notice. You are welcome to leave a message outside of business hours if it is before the cancellation deadline. (Please do not call after 5.00pm on a Friday and leave a message to cancel an appointment scheduled for the Monday as you will incur the cancellation fee).
Please note that while we endeavour to remind you of your appointments through SMS reminders, these should not be relied upon and it is your responsibility to remember appointments you have made.
Cancellation fees are payable on the phone at the time of cancellation, or will be directly charged to the encrypted credit card account details stored, or invoiced. Outstanding accounts (maximum terms = 7 days) will be referred for debt collection and will incur an 18% + GST debt collection fee.
** PLEASE NOTE: NO FUTURE APPOINTMENTS CAN BE BOOKED IF YOU HAVE AN OUTSTANDING ACCOUNT **
Our cancellation policy is based on the same rationale as many other industries, one example being the airline industry, where you pay for your seat whether you arrive at the airport or not. Given that the time has been set aside for you, if you do not use it, then it is unlikely at short notice it can be used by anyone else. We trust you will agree that this is a fair and reasonable policy and we thank you for your understanding.
A late cancellation, late rescheduled appointment or failure to attend your appointment is a loss to three people:
1. The client who is delaying their therapy progress
2. Another client who has been sitting on the waiting list to see the psychologist urgently
3. The psychologist who spent time preparing for the session, set aside the time in their calendar and lost income.
Please, therefore, ensure that you attend your appointments!
Evolve Psychology Group reserves the right to reschedule appointments at any time, without compensation, if it is deemed necessary due to staff illness or other unforeseen circumstances.
(The Office of Fair Trading states that a business is within its rights to charge a cancellation or “no-show” fee for appointments, so long as this has been communicated to a new patient or customer before making the appointment.)
