Start with the gaps that could become completed care
Include missed appointments that leave unused time. If an opening was refilled, the practice already completed a visit in that slot. If a missed visit later happens in another otherwise empty slot, check the whole period so you do not treat it as permanently lost care.
Use the fees you collected
The fee in your cancellation policy is not the amount every missed appointment brings in. Enter the total received for the missed visits you counted, including the effect of waivers and unpaid fees. The calculator spreads that amount across all those visits.
Count what changes when a visit happens
A session-paid clinician earns more when an extra visit happens. A fixed salary stays the same. Any missed-visit payment or clinician share of cancellation fees also matters, because recovering a visit replaces that payment with completed-session pay.
Compare the plan with the visits it can recover
Enter the missed visits you expect to remain, then the extra software, staff time and other weekly costs. The result shows the net change and how many recovered visits would cover the plan. Use that threshold to judge a specific change and review the actual outcome afterward.
Common questions
Is the result lost revenue or profit?
It is the change in money left after the costs that differ between completed and missed care, plus the cost of the recovery plan. Existing salary, rent and other fixed bills are unchanged, so this is not total practice profit.
Where does salary go?
Choose fixed salary as the pay type. Its amount is excluded because it stays the same in both scenarios. Include only additional clinician pay that changes with completed or missed visits.
What if fewer no-shows only means more early cancellations?
Count those visits as recovered only if they become completed care or the freed appointment is filled by another completed visit. A change in the cancellation label alone does not add a completed session.
Can recovered care have little financial value?
Yes. If collected missed-visit fees are high or completed-session costs use most of the payment, the financial difference can be small or negative. Check those amounts. The financial comparison does not measure the value of continuity of care.