There are several reasons that making it to appointments on time is important. It effects not just the clinic itself but also effects every other department that is connected with it and the hospital as a whole. Being a Soldier I am supposed to lead by example and I can't lead if I can't even show up for any of my appointments on time. The over all effect of this action is very negative all through out the entire hospital. Clinics are very closely related to every other department in the hospital. Our mission as medical workers is to take care of any and all patients and we can not do this if our staff is constantly wasting appointment slots that the providers could be using for dependents or someone else that could actually earn the hospital money. Missing appointments can, in fact, if it happened on a large enough scale can actually shut down a hospital. The step by step process on how missing appointments can effect every part of the hospital starts at the lowest level which is the clinic. Starting with the receptionist. they get paid to check patients in and by not checking in on time, I have impaired their ability to check patients in behind me on time therefor delaying the doctors schedule for the rest of the day. After that I also impair the doctors ability to see his or her other appointments on time. Clinic slowing down and some patients then get so frustrated that they cancel their appointments without due time to fill them in with other patients that can actually make their appointments. Every appointment that is missed costs each clinic one hundred and eighty-two dollars for each clinic. Considering the amour of clinics we have in our hospital that is a very considerable amour of money. That is money that could have been earned by replacing a missed or late appointment with some other patient in need. Moving up in the chain is then specialty clinics. The reason you have to have a referral for these is because the doctors have very little time to have
