Scott J Swagger | Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner

This is written to make sure you are officially aware of and in full understanding of your responsibilities when it comes to scheduling and cancelling appointments at this office.

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It is the objective of this office to apply the following cancellation policy fairly, uniformly, and consistently. Fees are assessed for the purpose of offsetting operational losses resulting from late cancellations, late arrivals and no-shows. Check with this office about possible fee waiver options. Whenever you have questions, it’s encouraged that you inquire.

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Cancellations. A cancellation refers to any time that you contact this office to remove one or more of your scheduled appointments from the calendar.

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No-Shows. A no-show (sometimes called a “no-show/no-call”) occurs when you were scheduled for an appointment but did not arrive or notify this office within ten minutes of the session start time. Example: if your appointment start time was scheduled for 4:00pm today and you did not attend or notify this office you wouldn’t be here, as of 4:11pm today you are responsible for a no-show for that appointment.

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Late arrivals. When you arrive late enough that the session time has to be “down-coded” (e.g. from a 60-minute session to a 45-minute session) for insurance purposes, it qualifies as a late arrival.

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Rescheduled appointments. An appointment change is considered “rescheduled” when you cancel the existing appointment and replace it with a subsequent appointment inside the rhythm of a predictable visit cycle. So if your frequency of attendance is every two weeks, and you move your appointment from the fifth to the twelfth, it will be agreed that you have “rescheduled.”

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This office will handle cancellations and no-shows as follows:

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-Appointments canceled with a minimum 48 hours’ notice result in no fee for each of the first two such cancellations per client case. There after you may be asked to voluntarily pay a $25 fee OR discussion about delaying the next appointment may occur (when it is non-harmful to your treatment to implement such a delay).

 

-Appointments canceled with less than 48 hours’ notice result in a $75 fee for each of the first two such cancellations per client case, and $100 per cancellation thereafter. Also, at that point discussion about delaying the next appointment may occur (when it is non-harmful to your treatment to implement such a delay).

 

-The first no-show per client case results in a fee of $200. The second no-show per client case warrants termination of treatment, with referral to an alternate clinician or agency. Mitigating circumstances in each case will be considered.

 

-The first late arrival of less than fifteen minutes results in a fee of $45. All other (larger and/or subsequent) late arrivals result in a fee of $75 (fifteen minutes or less late) or $100 (16-30 minutes late). Calling ahead but still arriving forty or more minutes late constitutes a no-show. With a pattern of late arrivals, discussion about delaying the next appointment may occur (when it is non-harmful to your treatment to do so).

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-Rescheduled appointments generally do not incur a fee or discussion of scheduling delay.

 

*All fees must be paid in full prior to scheduling future appointments. If you are struggling financially, please feel comfortable approaching to discuss this.

 

**Clients may elect to waive fees for one cancellation per client case for any reason. It is always okay to approach to discuss mitigating circumstances; under certain circumstances, additional fee waivers may be granted.

By signing below, you acknowledge that you have read and fully understand the Scott J Swagger PC Updated Cancellation Policy.