Verified: numbers with traceable sources
The estimated annual cost of missed appointments to the US healthcare system. This figure originates from a Health Management Technology estimate and has been independently reported by Forbes (2019) and Healthcare Finance News.
Sources: Forbes, "Missed Appointments, Missed Opportunities" (S. Jain, Oct 2019); Healthcare Finance News.
The average revenue a physician loses for each unfilled appointment time slot. For surgical practices, where a missed new-patient call can mean a missed procedure, the effective number is far higher.
Source: Forbes, "Missed Appointments, Missed Opportunities" (2019).
The reported range of patient no-show rates across US providers and specialties, varying with specialty, patient population, and reminder practices. Studies of individual clinics report figures across this whole range, which is why any single "average no-show rate" claim deserves scrutiny.
Sources: ranges reported across peer-reviewed no-show studies and industry analyses (e.g., MGMA discussions, DexCare research summaries).
In ClinicFlow's own 2026 after-hours audit, we called orthopedic and surgical practices outside business hours the way a patient would. The dominant pattern: after-hours callers most commonly reached voicemail or a phone tree that asked the patient to self-triage, and post-op symptom calls were handled through the same channel as routine messages. Full methodology is public.
Source: ClinicFlow After-Hours Phone Audit methodology (2026).
Flagged: famous numbers we could not trace to a primary source
These statistics appear in dozens of vendor articles, usually citing each other in a circle. Some may be roughly accurate; we simply could not find the underlying study, so we do not cite them, and we suggest you do not either. Yes, some of these would make our product look good.
Widely attributed to shifting surveys that we could not locate in primary form. Plausible directionally, unverifiable as stated.
Circulates across healthcare marketing blogs with no locatable patient-behavior study behind it. Treat as marketing folklore until someone produces the research.
Attributed to "a study of 7,000 calls across 22 practices" whose original publication we could not locate. The true unanswered-call rate likely varies enormously by practice size and staffing, much like no-show rates.
Run your own numbers instead
The most reliable statistics are the ones from your own phone lines. 2 free tools:
1. The missed-call revenue calculator estimates what unanswered calls cost your practice using your own call volume and case mix.
2. The free phone audit: we call your practice the way a patient would, during lunch and after hours, and send you the recordings. No estimate needed; you hear exactly what your patients hear.
For how AI coverage changes these numbers, see the AI medical answering service overview or the cost comparison guide.