Rescheduling & Cancellation

Reschedule rules, cancellation policies, time-based refund tiers, cooling-off period, and refund processing.

Appointments can be rescheduled or cancelled by patients, staff, or the system. Both actions are governed by configurable policies that control when they're allowed, what fees apply, and how refunds are handled.

Rescheduling

Rescheduling replaces an existing appointment with a new one at a different time or with a different doctor. The original appointment is marked as Rescheduled (a terminal status), and a new appointment is created.

Reschedule Rules

Setting	What It Controls	Example
Max Reschedules	Total number of times an appointment can be rescheduled	2 (after 2 reschedules, must cancel and rebook)
Reschedule Window	How far before the appointment rescheduling is allowed	Until 2 hours before (cannot reschedule last-minute)
Same Doctor Required	If enabled, patient must reschedule with the same doctor	Yes — cannot switch to a different doctor
Free Reschedule Count	First N reschedules are free, then a fee applies	1 (first reschedule free, second onwards has a fee)
Reschedule Fee	Fee charged after free reschedules are exhausted	Rs 100 flat fee

Price Difference Handling

When rescheduling to a slot with a different price, the system handles the difference according to one of three strategies:

Strategy	What Happens
Charge Difference	If the new slot is more expensive, the patient pays the difference. If cheaper, excess is credited.
Credit Difference	If the new slot is cheaper, the patient receives a refund for the difference. If more expensive, no extra charge.
Fixed Fee	A fixed reschedule fee is charged regardless of price difference.

Who Can Reschedule

Patient — Through the patient portal or by contacting front desk
Staff — On behalf of the patient, from the admin panel
System — Automatically during emergency leave (offers reschedule options)

Cancellation

Cancellation permanently removes an appointment. The status moves to Cancelled and cannot be reversed.

Who Can Cancel

Actor	Context
Patient	Through portal or front desk. Subject to cancellation window.
Staff	On behalf of patient. May require a reason.
Doctor	Via admin panel. Typically for clinical reasons.
System	Automatic — draft expiry, approval timeout, or emergency leave.

Cancellation Policy

The cancellation policy determines the refund percentage based on how far in advance the cancellation is made:

Time Before Appointment	Refund Percentage	Example
More than 24 hours	100%	Full refund — cancelled well in advance
12-24 hours	75%	Partial refund — short notice
2-12 hours	50%	Half refund — late cancellation
Less than 2 hours	0%	No refund — too late to cancel

Configurable Thresholds

The time thresholds and refund percentages shown above are examples. Your hospital configures its own cancellation tiers. Each tier defines a cutoff (hours before appointment) and the corresponding refund percentage.

Cooling-Off Period

A cooling-off period provides a window after booking during which the patient can cancel and receive a full refund, regardless of how close the appointment is. This is typically 24 hours after the appointment was created.

Example: Patient books an appointment for tomorrow at 9 AM. Even though the appointment is less than 24 hours away, if they cancel within the cooling-off period (within 24 hours of booking), they get a full refund.

Cancellation Reason

Depending on configuration, a reason may be required when cancelling. The system tracks:

Reason code — A structured category (e.g. 'Personal', 'Medical', 'Schedule Conflict')
Reason text — Free-form explanation from the person cancelling

Refund Processing

When a cancellation or reschedule triggers a refund:

The system calculates the refund amount based on the cancellation policy tier
A refund intent is recorded on the appointment
The payment system processes the refund to the original payment method

Refund Methods

Method	When Used
Same as Payment	Refund goes back to the original payment method (e.g. back to Razorpay, back to card)
Cash	Refund given in cash at the centre
Bank Transfer	Refund sent via bank transfer (for large amounts or when original method unavailable)

Refund Statuses

Status	Meaning
Pending	Refund requested, not yet processed
Processing	Refund is being processed by the payment gateway
Completed	Refund has been successfully processed
Failed	Refund processing failed — needs manual intervention

What's Next?

Learn about the day-of-appointment workflow in Check-in & Completion.

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Rescheduling & Cancellation