How to reduce no-shows without inventing a rate

The published rates are clinic rates

McLean and colleagues (2016) wrote that studies from around the world report non-attendance of between 15% and 30% in outpatient health clinics. That sentence is about outpatient health clinics. It is not a salon rate, a barber rate, or a number to paste into a calculator as if you had measured it.

What the reminder reviews actually found

The same McLean review found consistent evidence that reminder systems improve attendance across health care settings. For simple reminders, meaning date, time, and place, compared with no reminder, the systematic reviews it cites reported pooled relative risks of attendance from 1.06 to 1.10. A relative risk of 1.10 means attendance in the reminded group was 1.10 times attendance without a reminder, in that pooled estimate. It is not a 10-point drop in a no-show rate, and it is not a result from a shop.

Hasvold and Wootton (2011) reviewed 29 studies of telephone, SMS, or automated phone reminders for hospital appointments. All but one reported a benefit. Their weighted mean relative change in non-attendance was 34% of the baseline non-attendance rate. Automated reminders were less effective than manual phone calls: 29% of the baseline value, versus 39%. The abstract says there appeared to be no difference whether the reminder was sent the day before or the week before. The results section says there was no obvious relation between effect size and reminder timing, with a Spearman correlation of 0.18. McLean cites that 34% figure. It is one review, not a second independent measurement.

McLean and colleagues also report strong evidence that reminder timing between 1 and 7 days before the appointment has no adverse effect on attendance, and that a reminder sent very close to the visit may arrive too late to act on. In the trials they discuss, people who got a personal phone reminder cancelled or rescheduled 17% to 26% of the time, compared with 8% to 12% with no reminder, and clinics reallocated 27% to 40% of the cancelled slots. The review reports strong evidence that SMS reminders do not increase cancellation or rescheduling. Every one of those figures is from health care appointments.

What you can do with a booking page

Slotward does not send reminder texts or emails. The studies above are not a claim that this product sends them. If you remind people yourself, the hospital evidence says a reminder can raise attendance, and the phone-call arm is the one that also raised cancellations. A cancellation helps the book only if it arrives while you can still refill the time.

In Slotward, a client who cancels outside the window is refunded on their own, from the manage link. That is the moment the slot is free and the deposit is not in dispute. A message after the window has closed can still help someone show up. It is a weak way to get the hour back. For a 24-hour salon or barber window, a note two days ahead is still inside the 1-to-7-day range those reviews discussed, and it is before the window shuts. That is an adaptation of the timing finding, not a salon trial.

The booking form asks for an email and a phone number. McLean and colleagues note that wrong contact details are a common reason a reminder never arrives, in the health systems they reviewed. If you are going to text, use the number from the booking and correct it when it bounces.

A deposit is not a reminder, and this page has no study that says a deposit cuts no-shows by any percent. It does mean a missed visit leaves the amount you already collected, instead of a second charge you try to run later. Estimate that amount with your own numbers. The figures already in that calculator are an example, not a study. Do not type 15 or 30 into it unless you are describing outpatient clinics and you say so.

You're booked for [service] on [day] at [time]. Cancel more than [hours] hours before the start from your manage link and the deposit is refunded. Cancel later, or miss the visit, and the deposit is kept. Manage link: [link]. This message is not sent by Slotward.

Questions

Sources

Stripe, the Code of Federal Regulations, and the Federal Register page were read on November 9, 2026. The journal articles are cited by their publication. Pages change. Recheck a live source before you rely on it.

• McLean et al., Patient Preference and Adherence (2016)
• Hasvold and Wootton, Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare (2011)