This article outlines a provider's experience when a patient cancels or reschedules an initial appointment. Initial appointments may be canceled or rescheduled by patients or therapists, or they may be automatically canceled by Rula if a patient does not complete the registration process. The outcome depends on:
Whether the appointment is pending (the patient has booked but has not completed registration) or confirmed (the patient has booked and completed registration).
Whether the change happens more than 24 hours before or less than 24 hours before the scheduled time of the appointment.
Use the grids below to quickly see outcomes for each scenario.
Pending Initial Appointments
(Pending = appointment booked but registration incomplete)
| Action | More than 24 hours before appointment | Less than 24 hours before appointment |
|---|---|---|
| Patient cancels |
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| Patient reschedules |
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|
| Therapist cancels |
|
|
|
Therapist reschedules *only can be done by contacting Support, not via provider portal |
|
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| Auto-canceled (incomplete registration) |
|
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Note: There are no "no-shows" for pending appointments, as the appointment will automatically be canceled at least 14 hours prior to the pending appointment date/time if the patient has not yet completed the registration process.
Confirmed Initial Appointments
(Confirmed = appointment booked and registration is complete)
| Action | More than 24 hours before appointment | Less than 24 hours before appointment |
|---|---|---|
| Patient cancels |
|
|
| Patient reschedules |
|
|
| Therapist cancels |
|
|
| Therapist reschedules |
|
|
| Patient No-Shows | N/A |
|
Note: Most patients are charged for missed or late-canceled appointments. However, patients with Medicare, Medicaid, and limited Kaiser Permanente insurance plans are not charged. In these cases, the patient will not be billed, but you will still receive payment for the session.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pending Initial Appointments
(Pending = appointment booked but registration incomplete)
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Q: What happens if a patient cancels a pending initial appointment more than 24 hours before?
A: The time slot reopens immediately, and matching resumes. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid.
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Q: What happens if a patient cancels a pending initial appointment less than 24 hours before?
A: The time slot does not reopen. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid.
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Q: What happens if a patient reschedules a pending initial appointment?
A: More than 24 hours before → The time slot reopens immediately, and matching resumes. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid.
A: Less than 24 hours before → The time slot does not reopen. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid.
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Q: What happens if a therapist cancels a pending initial appointment?
A: More than 24 hours before → The time slot reopens immediately, and matching resumes. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid.
A: Less than 24 hours before → The time slot does not reopen. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid.
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Q: What happens if a therapist reschedules a pending initial appointment (Reminder: therapists cannot reschedule pending appointments via the Rula provider portal; they must contact Support)?
A: More than 24 hours before → The time slot reopens immediately, and matching resumes. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid.
A: Less than 24 hours before → The time slot does not reopen. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid.
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Q: What happens if a pending initial appointment is auto-canceled due to incomplete registration?
A: The time slot reopens immediately, and matching resumes. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid.
Confirmed Initial Appointments
(Confirmed = appointment booked and registration is complete)
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Q: What happens if a patient cancels a confirmed initial appointment more than 24 hours before?
A: The time slot reopens immediately, and matching resumes. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid. All future appointments are canceled.
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Q: What happens if a patient cancels a confirmed initial appointment less than 24 hours before?
A: The time slot does not reopen. Rula completes the missed appointment note on the therapist's behalf. The patient is charged, and the therapist is paid. All future appointments are canceled.
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Q: What happens if a patient reschedules a confirmed initial appointment?
A: More than 24 hours before → The time slot reopens immediately, and matching resumes. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid. Future appointments remain scheduled.
A: Less than 24 hours before → The time slot does not reopen. Rula completes the missed appointment note on the therapist's behalf. The patient is charged, and the therapist is paid. Future appointments remain scheduled.
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Q: What happens if a therapist cancels a confirmed initial appointment?
A: More than 24 hours before → The time slot reopens immediately, and matching resumes. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid. The therapist chooses whether to cancel future appointments.
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A: Less than 24 hours before → The time slot does not reopen. All future appointments are canceled. The patient is only charged, and the therapist is only paid if the following happens:
The therapist selects the cancellation reason “Client is not available at this time”, AND
The therapist selects Charge client = Yes when filling out the missed appointment note.
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Q: What happens if a therapist reschedules a confirmed initial appointment?
A: More than 24 hours before → The time slot reopens immediately, and matching resumes. The Patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid. The therapist chooses whether to update future appointments.
A: Less than 24 hours before → The time slot does not reopen. The patient is not charged, and the therapist is not paid. The therapist chooses whether to update future appointments.
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Q: What happens if a patient no-shows a confirmed initial appointment?
A: The time slot does not reopen. The therapist completes the missed appointment note. The patient is charged, and the therapist is paid. Future appointments remain scheduled.
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