We schedule appointments for routine office visits, full skin examinations, and various surgical and diagnostic procedures. We request that patients be as specific as possible about the reason for their visit when booking an appointment so we can best anticipate how much time should be reserved. This may help to minimize waiting time, which can be so stressful and frustrating for patients, doctors, and staff. Of course, there are unforeseen circumstances that cause delays in our schedule. We advise patients to call our office ahead of their appointment time to see how we are running and to get a realistic time frame to avoid delays and other scheduling conflicts.
We make every attempt to confirm all appointments 1-2 days in advance. Our confirmation phone calls are made during early evening hours, when most patients are likely to be at home to receive and respond to these calls. Patients can respond to voice prompts to confirm, cancel, or leave a message for our staff. In case of an answering machine, a message is left for the patient to call our office to confirm or cancel the appointment. We do ask our patients to call back and leave a message with a staff member or on our voice mail after hours to finalize the confirmation to reserve their appointment time. This system has worked for us to minimize the disappointment of missed appointments, delayed treatment, and rescheduling difficulties.