Late arrivals are a reality in any clinical practice, and telehealth is no exception. In some ways, virtual visits make tardiness more likely: patients may underestimate how quickly the appointment time arrives when they do not have a commute to anchor the preparation, or they may run into a last-minute technical issue that delays their entry. How you handle a late arrival affects your schedule, your relationship with the patient, and the quality of the clinical time you do have together.
Here is a practical approach to managing it well.
What to Do While You Are Waiting
When a patient has not appeared in your virtual waiting room by their scheduled start time, give it a few minutes before taking action. A two to three minute buffer is reasonable for most visit types. Use that time to review the patient’s chart and be ready to move directly into the clinical conversation the moment they arrive.
If the patient has not connected by five minutes past the scheduled start time, reach out. Use SecureVideo’s masked calling feature to place a quick call from your provider dashboard without exposing your personal number. A brief message is enough: “Hi, this is [provider name] at [practice name]. We had a telehealth appointment scheduled at [time] and I see you have not connected yet. Please click the link in your confirmation email when you are ready, and I will be available for a few more minutes.”
SecureVideo’s clinical chat is another option for a quick, secure message if the patient is already on their device and may just need a nudge.
How Long to Wait
Your no-show and late arrival policy should define how long you will hold an appointment for a late patient. A standard practice is to hold the slot for ten to fifteen minutes. After that point, the appointment is treated as a late cancellation or no-show per your practice policy.
The right window depends on your appointment length and the nature of the visit. A sixty-minute therapy session can absorb a ten-minute late start more easily than a fifteen-minute medication management check-in. Build your late arrival policy around your appointment types and be consistent in applying it. Document your wait time and outreach attempt in the session note regardless of whether the patient ultimately connects.
When the Patient Arrives Late: How to Start Well
When a late patient finally connects, resist the urge to open with frustration or a lengthy discussion of the lateness. Acknowledge it briefly and move forward:
“Good to see you, I know we are starting a little late. We have [X minutes] together, so let us make the most of it.”
Then get directly into the clinical content. A patient who arrives ten minutes late and receives a focused, efficient session feels better about the encounter than one who spends five of their remaining minutes discussing why they were late. If the lateness itself is a pattern worth addressing clinically, that conversation belongs in a dedicated moment in the session, not as the opening.
Adjusting the Visit When Time Is Short
When a session starts late, prioritize ruthlessly. Before the session, you should have a sense of what the most important clinical goals are. If the patient arrives late, identify the one or two things that must happen in this visit and address those first. Less critical items can be covered in a follow-up message through SecureVideo’s clinical chat or at the next scheduled appointment.
Be transparent with the patient about what you can and cannot cover in the remaining time:
“We have about fifteen minutes left. I want to make sure we cover [priority item] today. We can follow up on [secondary item] by message or at your next visit.”
Most patients appreciate the directness. It also models the kind of time management that reinforces the value of arriving on time.
Preventing Late Arrivals Before They Happen
The most effective late arrival management is the kind that prevents it. SecureVideo’s automated reminder system sends appointment reminders with the session link embedded at configurable intervals before the visit. A same-day reminder on the morning of the appointment, followed by a reminder one hour before, significantly reduces the number of patients who lose track of the time. Including a note in the reminder that the session will begin at the scheduled time and that late arrivals may result in a shortened visit sets the expectation without being adversarial.
Combining clear pre-visit instructions, reliable automated reminders, and a consistently applied late arrival policy gives you the tools to protect your schedule while handling the inevitable exceptions with professionalism and calm. Learn more about SecureVideo or start a free trial today.