Updated 2026-10-03 · 2 min read
A free hour in a clinic's calendar is paid time with no income: the room is ready, the physiotherapist is at their post and nobody comes in. One or two a day seem like little; by the end of the month they add up to a lot of sessions.
Almost all of them have an identifiable cause, and almost all of them can be reduced.
Where they come from
From the patient who doesn't turn up and doesn't call, from the last-minute cancellation nobody manages to offer to someone else, and from the time slots patients don't ask for because they don't know they exist: first thing in the morning, midday, the last one in the evening.
| Cause | What reduces it |
|---|---|
| Patient who doesn't turn up | A reminder in advance and the option to change by message |
| Last-minute cancellation | A waiting list that notifies on its own |
| Slots nobody asks for | Online booking and offering them when replying |
| Treatment that's abandoned | Session series and packs with follow-up |
Making sure a cancellation doesn't leave the slot empty
The most effective thing is for the patient to be able to change their session by writing, instead of not turning up, and for the slot that's freed to be offered at that moment to whoever was waiting.
In ClaudIA, when someone cancels, the slot becomes free instantly and the first person on the waiting list who fits is notified. Just one, so two don't turn up.
Offering the slots nobody asks for
When someone asks about the afternoon, also offering them the first appointment in the morning fills time that would otherwise stay empty. ClaudIA offers each physiotherapist's real free slots, and online booking shows all of them.
And the clinic's reports show which time slots and which physiotherapists have the most free hours, so you can decide with data.
Questions clinics ask
How does ClaudIA reduce free hours? With reminders, changes by message instead of no-shows, a waiting list that notifies on its own when a slot frees up and online booking at any hour.
Does the waiting list notify everyone at once? No. It notifies the first person who fits, so two patients don't turn up at the same time.
Can I see which time slots are emptiest? Yes. The reports show occupancy per physiotherapist and per time slot.