Free templates

No-show policy templates that patients accept and clinics can apply

Four copy-ready cancellation and no-show policies: a 24-hour notice rule, a deposit at booking, card on file with a late-cancellation charge, and a repeat-missed-appointment approach. Replace the bracketed placeholders with your own notice period and amounts.

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Four policies

Pick the one you can apply every time

24-hour notice policy

Best for: Most clinics: friendly, clear, and easy to apply consistently

Our cancellation policy If you cannot make your appointment, please let us know at least 24 hours in advance so we can offer the time to another patient. You can cancel or rearrange using the link in your reminder message, from your patient portal, or by calling us. If an appointment is missed without notice, we will get in touch to check everything is okay and to rebook. After two missed appointments in six months, we may ask you to confirm future bookings in advance.

Deposit at booking

Best for: Aesthetics, dental, physiotherapy and any clinic with long appointments

Deposits and cancellations To secure your appointment we take a deposit of [deposit amount] at the time of booking. The deposit is deducted from the cost of your treatment on the day. If you cancel or rearrange with at least [notice period] notice, your deposit is carried over to your new appointment or refunded. If you cancel with less notice, or do not attend, the deposit is retained to cover the reserved time. You can cancel or rearrange from the link in your reminder message or from your patient portal at any time.

Card on file with a late-cancellation fee

Best for: Clinics that do not want to take deposits but need bookings to be real

Booking and cancellation terms When you book we ask for a payment card to hold your appointment. Nothing is charged at booking. If you cancel or rearrange with at least [notice period] notice, there is no charge. If you cancel with less notice, or do not attend, a late-cancellation fee of [fee amount] is charged to the card on file. We will always send you a reminder before the deadline, with a one-tap option to reschedule.

Repeat missed appointments

Best for: Clinics that prefer a conversation to a charge

Missed appointments We understand that life gets in the way. If you miss an appointment without letting us know, we will contact you to rebook and to check whether anything is making it hard to attend. If a second appointment is missed within [period], we will ask you to confirm each future booking from your reminder message before the appointment is held. If a confirmation is not received by [deadline], the time is released to our waitlist.

Making it stick

How Capra applies the policy you publish

A policy only holds if the booking, the reminder and the record all follow it.

Deposits and card on file

Deposit and card-on-file rules are set per appointment type at booking, so a consultation can be free to book while a treatment takes a deposit. Patients see the rule before they confirm, and it is applied the same way every time.

Reminders with a way out

Every reminder carries one-tap confirm and reschedule within your notice period, so a patient who cannot attend can tell you in time and the slot goes to the waitlist. A fair policy depends on that exit being easy.

Proof on the record

Delivery and read status for each reminder, the signed policy acceptance and every message sit on the patient record, so if a charge is disputed the clinic can show what was sent, when, and what the patient agreed to.

Security & reliability

Built for healthcare, trusted with patient data

Defence in depth, from the first message to the last record. This is how we operate, not a badge.

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Connections use current TLS with HSTS, and stored data is encrypted with keys managed by our cloud provider.

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Permissions come from defined roles, privileged access needs multi-factor authentication, and rights are reviewed regularly.

Monitored and logged

Security-relevant events are recorded, retained and reviewed so unusual activity can be investigated quickly.

Backed up and resilient

Critical data is backed up regularly and protected like production, with processes to restore service after a disruption.

Hosted where you need it

UK clinics are hosted in the UK by default; deployment in other regions, including the UAE, is available on request with the same protections.

Connected to your systems

Capra connects to the record, calendar, accounting, messaging and claims systems you already run; integrations are built with you during onboarding.

Works with the tools you already use, with human support in UK and UAE hours

Google Calendar
Microsoft Outlook & Teams
SMS (Twilio)
WhatsApp Business
Email (DKIM verified)

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FAQ

Questions, answered

Which no-show policy works best?

The one you can apply consistently. A 24-hour notice policy with a friendly tone suits most clinics; deposits suit long or high-value appointments; card on file suits clinics that want bookings to be real without taking money up front; and a repeat-missed-appointment policy suits practices that prefer a conversation to a charge. Pick one and tell every patient at booking.

Do no-show fees actually reduce no-shows?

They help when patients know about them in advance and can easily cancel in time. In a randomized trial in NHS hospital clinics, simply stating the cost of a missed appointment in the reminder cut the DNA rate from 11.1% to 8.4%; the reminder and the easy way out did the work, not the penalty.

How do I tell patients about the policy?

At booking, in the confirmation message, and in the reminder. Capra shows the policy for an appointment type before the patient confirms, records their acceptance on the record, and repeats the notice period in each reminder beside the reschedule option.

What about patients who genuinely cannot attend?

Build the exception into the policy and the workflow: a one-tap reschedule within the notice period, a follow-up message after a missed visit that asks whether something is getting in the way, and the ability for reception to waive a charge with the reason recorded.

Can Capra enforce these policies?

Yes. Deposits and card on file per appointment type, notice periods on reminders, waitlist refills, and delivery, read and acceptance records on the patient file, so the policy you publish is the policy the system applies.

Should the deposit be a percentage or a fixed amount?

Either works; what matters is that patients see it before they confirm. Clinics with wide-ranging appointment values often use a percentage; clinics with a few standard appointment types use a fixed amount per type. The templates leave the amount as a placeholder for you to set.

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