What is ZocDoc Appointments No Show Rate?

According to publicly available data, Zocdoc appointment no-show rates vary significantly, with some data suggesting low rates (around 6.9% for online bookings in one study) compared to traditional booking, while other providers report much higher figures, with some doctors experiencing nearly 50% no-shows for Zocdoc appointments, leading to high costs because Zocdoc charges per booking, not per show, making patient reliability crucial for practice profitability.  However, more realistic number is 21%, meaning that 1 out of 5 booked appointments do not show up, however as a provider you have to pay for all 5 of them

Lower Rates (From Zocdoc’s Perspective/Studies)

• A study cited by Zocdoc found online bookings had a 6.9% non-attendance rate(cancellations + no-shows), much lower than voice-booked appointments (17-31%), suggesting more informed patients attend better. 

Higher Rates (From Provider Experiences)

• Some practices report (Reddit) significantly higher rates; one doctor noted an average no-show rate of nearly 50%, effectively costing them $90 per actual patient visit due to Zocdoc’s booking fee structure.
• Another practice manager mentioned seeing 36% of bookings either cancel late or no-show in a single month. 

Why the Discrepancy?

• Provider Costs: Zocdoc charges providers per booking, not per visit, meaning practices pay even if the patient doesn’t show up.
• Patient Behavior: While Zocdoc aims to reduce no-shows, providers feel the platform doesn’t offer enough tools to prevent them, and some patients book multiple appointments and forget.
• Data Reporting: Some provider reports include practice cancellations in their no-show calculations, influencing the overall percentage. 

In essence, while Zocdoc publishes lower non-attendance compared to offline methods, individual practice experiences highlight that no-shows remain a significant and costly issue, often much higher than Zocdoc’s published figures suggest. 

A Zocdoc no-show significantly impacts a doctor’s profitability because the practice still has to pay Zocdoc’s non-refundable per-booking fee, while simultaneously losing the potential revenue from the missed appointment. This essentially doubles the financial hit for that specific time slot. 

Impact on Profitability Analysis

The profitability calculation changes drastically when accounting for the Zocdoc fee and no-show rate. Consider an example for a general practice physician:

• Average Revenue per Visit: Roughly $186 to $400
• Zocdoc Fee: Approximately $45 to $160 per new patient booking
• No-Show Rate for Zocdoc: We will use 21% in this example.

Case Study: Primary Care Physician (PCP)

Let’s assume a PCP has an average visit reimbursement of $186 and a Zocdoc per-booking fee of $65. 

• 10 Bookings, 8 Show (21% no-show rate):
  • Total Revenue (from 8 showing patients): $1512
  • Total Zocdoc Cost (for all 10 bookings): $650 – You still pay for 10 bookings.
  • Cost per Acquisition (CPA) of a showing patient: $81.25 (you pay for 10 leads to get 8 actual patients – 21%) 

As shown in the data below, the Zocdoc cost as a percentage of potential revenue effectively doubles when the no-show rate hits 50%. When overhead is factored in (rent, staff salaries, insurance), the practice may even lose money on each Zocdoc patient when no-show rates are high. 

Understanding this severe financial impact is key to mitigating the risk. We can now look at specific strategies that have been proven to lower Zocdoc no-show rates, such as leveraging the cancellation window to waive the fee or improving patient communication. 

Another option is to consider an appointment app on your own website, use it to capture leads. And then use automation and AI agent like SPOC app from PatientGain to convert new patients into paying patients.