No, unfortunately, you cannot bill the Deaf patient for the interpreting services – that would be illegal. You can, however, set up a general cancellation policy in your office that applies to all of your patients. This means you can charge a cancellation fee or no-show fee to ALL your patients that do just that. If you enforce it, it will help off-set the cost of the interpreter. To enforce this only with your Deaf clients/patients would be considered discriminatory.
I would also discuss this policy with the patient next time you have an interpreter. I find if the staff actually explain that it’s imperative the patient calls 24 business hours before (weekends do not count) the appointment time to cancel or reschedule, they’ll remember to do so. If you have a Deaf patient that frequently cancels or doesn’t show, then there are other options we can offer to help prevent the cancellation fee by the interpreters.
Keep in mind that most other interpreting agencies demand a 48-72 hour window to cancel without being billed. Our 24 hour cancellation policy is one of the many reasons our customers prefer CbH. The interpreters strictly enforce this 24hr cancellation/no-show policy. It is an industry standard that Communication by Hand must honor to retain the best certified interpreters possible.
