Patients not showing up for doctor appointments is a widespread phenomenon in India. This can have dire consequences, especially due to the dearth of medical practitioners to address the health concerns of a growing population. Our Patient No-Show policy has been put in place to ensure timely healthcare for everyone using the Practo platform.

In the Practo context, Patient No-Show means a patient hasn’t turned up on time for an appointment booked through Practo.com or Practo App without cancelling, rescheduling, or informing the practice/doctor in advance about the same.

Capturing Patient No-Show from Doctors/Clinics

When a patient doesn’t show up for a confirmed appointment (without having cancelled or rescheduled before appointment time), doctors using Ray software can mark the specific appointment as PNS on their desktop Ray or the Pro app. PNS can be marked only after 1 (one) hour from the scheduled appointment start time and within 5 (five) days following the scheduled appointment.

Verifying PNS from Patients

Whenever a doctor/clinic marks PNS, Practo may contact the patient via automated outbound calls, WhatsApp messages, SMS, or email to verify the claim and understand the reason behind the missed appointment. Patients should respond within 7 (seven) days after receiving the communication, with the reason.

Actions Taken on Repeat Patient No-Show

Every PNS captured on Practo is dealt with seriousness based on past patient behaviour. This is done in order to ensure patients understand the importance of a doctor’s time and not misuse the convenience provided by Practo. Our PNS Policy aims at minimising instances of uninformed missed appointments, thereby making the most of a doctor’s valuable time.

• 1.Repeat PNS actions are taken ONLY for patients who schedule appointments using the ‘Book Appointment’ feature on Practo.
• 2.At the third valid instance of PNS in the last 12 months, the patient’s account will be temporarily disabled from booking further online appointments on Practo.com for the next 4 months. However, the user can continue to call the clinic via Practo.com to get an appointment.
• 3.Below are the valid cases of PNS:
  • a.Patient does not reply to the communication with the reason within 7 days from the date of receipt of such communication.
  • b.Patient responds with any of the below reasons:
    • i.Forgot the appointment
    • ii.Chose to visit another doctor/consulted online
    • iii.Busy with other work
    • iv.Other reasons (which Practo at its discretion decides to be a reason for valid PNS)
• 4.Below are the invalid cases of PNS:
  • a.Patient says they were marked as PNS despite visiting the practice/doctor. This will be marked valid/invalid only after the Practo support team validates the authenticity of the claim.
  • b.Patient says they were extremely ill to visit the doctor (this will be a one-time consideration only).
• 5. If a patient has a history of repeat PNS, the patient’s account can be temporarily disabled from booking further online appointments on Practo.com, even on the 1st or 2nd instance of PNS.
• 6. Where an appointment is booked as a pre-paid appointment and is subsequently marked as PNS or cancelled, Practo may process a refund to the patient after verification. Practo reserves the right to verify any PNS or cancellation claim by contacting the patient directly. Where Practo’s verification indicates that the patient attended the appointment, the refund request will be rejected.
• 7. Practo reserves the right to make the final decision in the case of a conflict. The total aggregate liability of Practo with respect to any claims made herein shall be INR 200.
• 8. Practo reserves the right to modify these terms from time to time.

Practice Compliance and Verification

Practo is committed to maintaining the integrity of its platform for both patients and healthcare providers. To this end, Practo verifies PNS and cancellation claims to ensure that refund requests accurately reflect patient behaviour. The following measures apply to all practices listed on the Practo platform.

• 1.Verification of PNS and Cancellations. Practo may verify any appointment marked as PNS or cancelled by contacting the patient directly through automated outbound calls, WhatsApp messages, or SMS. The purpose of such verification is to confirm whether the patient attended the appointment.
• 2.Inconsistent Refund Requests. Where Practo’s verification confirms that the patient attended the appointment despite the appointment being marked as PNS or cancelled by the practice, the refund request will be rejected. Such instances are recorded as inconsistent refund requests against the practice.
• 3.Temporary Restriction of Auto-Refunds. Where a practice accumulates multiple inconsistent refund requests within a defined period, Practo may temporarily restrict automatic refund processing for that practice. During a restriction period:
  • a.All PNS and cancellation claims from the practice will be subject to verification before any refund is processed.
  • b.The practice will be notified of the restriction and the applicable duration.
  • c.The restriction will be lifted automatically upon expiry of the restriction period. No action is required from the practice.
• 4.Suspension of Platform Privileges. Where a practice has been subject to multiple temporary restrictions within a defined period, Practo may take further action, including:
  • a.Removal of the practice from all active programmes on the Practo platform.
  • b.Disabling the ‘Book Appointment’ feature for the practice.
  • c.Offboarding the practice from the Practo platform.
• 5.Notification. Practo will notify the practice via email and/or WhatsApp before imposing any temporary restriction or suspension under this section. The practice may contact support@practo.com to seek clarification or contest any finding.
• 6.Discretion. The specific thresholds, periods, and conditions for triggering a temporary restriction or suspension are determined by Practo at its sole discretion and may be modified from time to time without prior notice. Practo further reserves the right to revoke, shorten, or modify any restriction or suspension at its sole discretion.
• 7.General. This policy is to be read in conjunction with the Practo Terms of Service. Continued use of the Practo platform by a practice constitutes acceptance of this policy, as amended from time to time.