Completing a missed appointment note in the Rula provider portal

Missed appointment notes are used to document if and when clients miss appointments. They are required in order to charge a client for a no-show or late cancellation. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to complete a missed appointment note. 

When to use missed appointment notes

Therapists should complete a missed appointment note in the Rula provider portal any time a client misses an appointment.

A missed appointment is an appointment where a client either:

• Cancels the appointment with less than 24 hours' notice
• Arrives more than 15 minutes late
• Does not show up for the appointment

A missed appointment note is not required for appointments canceled more than 24 hours ahead.

A signed missed appointment note must be completed in order to be paid for a missed session.  You can view Rula's Late Cancel and No-Show Policy here. 

Video Demonstration

Guided Steps

Missed appointment notes are created through the Schedule tab when canceling an appointment. They only become available after the session should have occurred.

To create a missed appointment note:

1. Log into the provider portal
2. Find and click on the appointment you want to cancel.
3. Click the 3 dots then Appointment did not happen
4. Select the reason for canceling from the drop down
   • Teleconferencing did not work
   • Client did not attend appointment
   • I did not attend appointment
5. Fill out the note template
   • The cancel reason selected when canceling the appointment will not determine if the client is charged or the therapist is paid.
   • Make sure to select Yes under Charge client if appropriate.
6. Once complete, click Sign note.
7. Confirm your electronic signature, then click Sign and submit note

Once the note is submitted, it cannot be edited. The signed note will generate a charge and be billed to your client. No further action is needed. 

You can confirm that a charge was generated correctly by returning to the Client Chart and looking for the missed appointment note. Confirmation of a charge will be indicated by a $ icon on the note card.

Missed appointment note definitions and components

When filling out a missed appointment note, you'll need to enter the following information

• Missed appointment category
• Notes on outreach

• Charge or no charge 

Missed appointment category

The missed appointment category is either a no-show or late cancellation. The definitions for each are as follows

• No Show: No prior notification from the client before they missed the appointment.
• Late Cancel: The client canceled less than 24 hrs before the appointment

If No Show is Selected, additional questions will be populated to confirm that therapists followed the Outreach attempts required by Rula's Late Cancel and No Show Policy.

Notes on outreach

The Notes On Outreach section is required for no-show and late cancellations. In this section, please include details of attempted outreach or how/when a client canceled. Please be specific. Rula will refer to this information if a client reaches out to Support.

Charge or no charge

The section of this note falls under the heading Charge?. In this section, you will select whether or not to charge the client for the missed appointment. 

• Yes: this will charge the client, and therapists will be paid for the missed appointment.
• No: this will not charge the client, and therapists will not be paid for the missed appointment.
  • When selecting "no charge," we recommend clicking the dropdown arrow and adding a reason.

Additional Resources

• Viewing signed notes in the Rula provider portal - Provides guidance on how to view saved and signed notes
• Canceling appointments in the Rula provider portal - Provides step-by-step guidance on how to cancel an appointment in the Rula provider portal.