“Missed business opportunity” That’s what Medicare calls it when you charge their recipients for missing their appointment. Are missed appointments a covered Medicare benefit? Not at all according to http://www.cms.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM5613.pdf a Medlearns Matters Article. What this means is that if someone misses their appointment, you can charge them. Why do that? Well I bet most in-demand hair dressers and barbers do the same.
Why not? If you have loyal and punctual patients and they sometimes miss an appointment, perhaps you should cut them a break and call it a cost of business. Perhaps, but it is your life and you will never get those 15 -30 minutes back and that time, if you are normally efficient is wasted. If you were able to sneak some other work in and get home a little earlier, then that is up to you whether it cost you money or not.
How much to charge? Why not charge them for the amount that you would have charged for an office visit. If you truly consider it a lost business opportunity, that is exactly what it cost you.