Clinic Cancellation and No-Show Policy Template (With a Cancellation Fee)

A clinic can charge a cancellation fee if the patient was told about it before booking. That is the one principle the available guidance agrees on. India has no specific rule: we found no guidance on missed-appointment or cancellation fees from the National Medical Commission, the Dental Council of India or the Clinical Establishments framework, and no consumer commission ruling on it. The clearest statement elsewhere is the American Medical Association's former Opinion 8.01: "A physician may charge a patient for a missed appointment or for one cancelled 24 hours in advance if the patient is fully advised that the physician will make such a charge" (quoted in the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, March 2021).

The policy below is built around that notice. The patient sees the policy when they book and is told the amount before any fee is charged. For the wider problem of patients who do not turn up, see our guide to reducing no-shows.

The policy template

Copy this, replace the words in curly brackets, and put it on your booking page, your registration form and a notice at reception.

Cancellation and missed appointment policy, {clinic}

We keep each appointment time for one patient. When an appointment is cancelled late or missed, that time cannot be offered to anyone else.

1. Changing or cancelling. Please tell us at least {notice} hours before your appointment, by WhatsApp, phone or at the desk, and you pay nothing.
2. Your first late cancellation or missed appointment in any {window}-day period is free.
3. After that, a late cancellation or a missed appointment carries a fee of Rs {fee}. We will always tell you the amount and ask you before charging it.
4. No fee applies if the clinic cancels or moves your appointment, if you are unwell or have a medical emergency, or in any situation the doctor decides to excuse.
5. Paying the fee. You can pay by UPI from the link we send, at the desk, or with your next visit.
6. Packages and courses of sessions. A missed session in a prepaid package {is / is not} counted as used.

Questions about this policy can go to the doctor or the front desk at {phone}.

Choosing the numbers

• Notice period. Pick a time your clinic can use. If a freed evening slot is usually filled by someone on the same day's waiting list, a shorter notice period works; if most bookings are made days ahead, ask for a day's notice.
• The free allowance. One free cancellation in a period keeps the fee for repeat cases and keeps you from charging a patient who had one bad day.
• The fee. Set it below your consultation fee. A fee equal to a visit feels like a punishment, and it is hard to ask for at the desk.
• The window. Counting cancellations over a fixed number of days, such as 90, lets an old cancellation drop off so patients start fresh.

Telling patients before they are charged

Notice is what makes the fee fair, so give it more than once:

1. At booking. One line in the booking confirmation: "Please give us {notice} hours' notice if you need to cancel."
2. On the reminder. The day-before reminder includes "Reply CHANGE if you need another time", so a patient who cannot come has an easy way to say so in time.
3. Before charging. When a cancellation would carry the fee, tell the patient the amount first and let them decide whether to cancel or keep the appointment.

Exemptions that keep the policy humane

Write the exemptions into the policy itself, so the front desk does not have to judge each case:

• The clinic cancelled or moved the appointment.
• The patient was ill, admitted to hospital or had a family emergency.
• A first-time patient who has not yet seen the policy.
• Any case the doctor chooses to excuse.

Collecting the fee

Ask for it in the same message that confirms the cancellation, with the amount and a way to pay. A UPI payment link or QR code that pays the clinic's own account is the least awkward option for both sides. Record the fee on the patient's bill, so it shows in their outstanding balance if it is not paid. Mark it waived, not deleted, when the doctor excuses it, so the record stays honest.

How MyClinicDesk handles it

A clinic using the MyClinicDesk WhatsApp assistant can switch on a cancellation fee in its settings: the fee, how many free cancellations a patient gets in 90 days, and the clinic's UPI ID. When a patient asks to cancel on WhatsApp and the fee applies, the assistant tells them the amount and cancels only if they reply yes. It then adds the fee to their bill and sends a link to pay it by UPI, straight to the clinic. Staff mark the fee paid or waive it from the conversation, and cancellations the clinic makes itself never count toward the fee.