Registered Massage Therapist
Member of the Massage Therapists' Association of Nova Scotia since 2000

The Halifax Professional Centre
5991 Spring Garden Road • Suite 577
Halifax, Nova Scotia • B3H 1Y6
jessica.marsh.hfx@gmail.com
902 • 580 • 2708

25.7.05

Missed Appointments

I ask that you give 24 hours notice in order to cancel an appointment. If that notice is not given, payment is expected for that appointment. This policy is spelled out in the consent form you sign when you come in for your first visit.

Sometimes people seem startled by the policy, so I thought I would take a moment to explain this issue. When you make an appointment, that time is set aside for you exclusively. When other people call for an appointment, they're turned away from your time, because you have it reserved. If you forget your appointment or decide to cancel at the last minute, that is a time I could have given to someone else.

So I am directly affected financially, and very often there is someone who needed to be seen but couldn't get booked in.

I was discussing this issue with a client last week. She was in full agreement with the policy, and she said she thinks of it like when she buys tickets to a concert or a play: if she misses the event for whatever reason, she doesn't expect her money back. She reserved the seat, so the ticket couldn't be sold to anyone else. So this is why I ask you to be responsible for the appointments you make.

It's important to note that insurance companies cannot be billed for missed appointments. This means that if Blue Cross is billed directly for your appointments, if you miss an appointment you will be sent an invoice directly.

Another note: if you don't give the requested 24 hours notice to cancel, but I am able to book someone else in to that space, you will not be billed.