Why we require payment up-front and charge for missed appointments?

The Center for Functional Medicine is a low volume office. We do not double book patients – a practice which is common in most physicians’ offices. Your booked appointment is dedicated to your time and we run on time, to avoid the  long wait common in most physician’s offices. Your visit is reserved in advance for you so your personal physician can focus on your comprehensive care. Insurance companies expect physicians to double book an average of 6 patients per hour which would not allow us to provide our patients with the comprehensive integrative care that our center is known for. Since we do not overbook and schedule one patient at a time, (initial visits vary from 1 to 1 1/2 hours), your missed appointment represents a loss for our physicians and to the center, therefore we require a 48 hour notice of cancellation for all appointments.