Appointment Policy
Purpose: To ensure patients have access to care when needed by maximizing the utilization of available appointments.
Making of Appointments: Appointments can be made through department scheduling or can be requested through the Patient’s Portal. When calling to make an appointment, please call (308)-754-4421 and ask for the specific department scheduling desk. Patients wanting to request an appointment for HCMC providers only, can do so through the patient portal app, or by going to hcmc.us.com, For Patients, Patient Portal.
Appointment Time/Types: All outpatient departments make appointments for specific procedures or examinations. When scheduling the appointment, the healthcare staff will give you specific time and instructions based on the appointment you are requesting.
The Medical Staff requests the schedulers ask certain questions to be best prepared to have a quality appointment. The schedulers are given guidelines by the Medical Staff on time and length of appointments based on the information they are given by the patient.
Cancellations: Please provide a courtesy call during business hours, 7:30 am-5:00 pm, of changes or cancellations to appointments. Ideally cancellations should be made at least 24 hours prior to an appointment.
Late for Appointments: Out of respect for other patients and the healthcare staff time, patients who arrive late with no advanced warning may not be able to be seen. They may need to be rescheduled for a later date/time.
No-Show Guidelines: A No-Show is someone who misses an appointment without cancelling in advance. Failure to show up for a scheduled appointment will be recorded as a “No Show”. A “No-Show” letter will be sent to the patient reinforcing the ‘No-Show’ Policy.
Howard County Medical Center reserves the right to end the care provider-patient relationship if the patient continues to “No-Show” for appointments.
