Legal Question in Health Care Law in Ohio

Re: Charge for missed appointment

If the office policy was known to you that missed appointments would be charged then it is appropriate to bill. If the office policy was to call and remind a patient about appointments approaching and they didn't, then they would be hard pressed to charge you. If you intend to stay a patient of this practice you might consider discussing with the office manager so that this outstanding bill does not become a problem. There is no absolute right of a doctor to charge for an appointment missed unless you knew or had reason to know that the appointment would be charged for regardless of whether it was kept. I think given the fact that it was made 6 months ago, most offices have a policy of follow-up to avoid missed appointments and it sounds like your justification would be excusable as a reason for not being held responsible for the charge. Hope this helps

Howard Mishkind