A single missed new-patient call has a price you can put a number on. Below is a transparent, sourced 2026 model of that number, by specialty, plus the math so you can check it against your own practice.
Published July 20, 2026 by VoiceboxMD · Model, not a measurement of your practice
85%
of unanswered callers never call back
62%
of those callers book with a competitor instead
80%
who reach voicemail hang up without leaving a message
Figures from published call-handling research. Sources cited below.
The number, by specialty
The per-call figure is the expected value of one unanswered new patient or client. The annual figure models a representative practice (40 calls/day, 25% unanswered, 30% new callers).
| Specialty | New-patient value / yr | Lost per missed call | Annualized loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical practice | $900 | $279 | $220,968 |
| Dental practice | $1,200 | $372 | $294,624 |
| Med spa | $1,500 | $465 | $368,280 |
| Salon & spa | $600 | $186 | $147,312 |
Your practice is not the average. Run your own numbers in the calculator →
Methodology
The model is intentionally simple and conservative. For a single unanswered new-patient call:
loss per missed new-patient call = new-patient value × 0.62 (go to a competitor) × 0.5 (would have booked)These are estimates, not guarantees. For context, the annual figures above dwarf the $2,388/year cost of never missing a call in the first place.
Sources
Go deeper
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FAQ
For an unanswered new-patient call, our model puts the expected loss at about $279 for a typical medical practice, $372 for dental, $465 for a med spa, and $186 for a salon. That is the annual value of a new patient multiplied by the share of missed callers who go to a competitor (62%) and a conservative 50% who would actually have booked. Most calls are not new patients, so this applies to the new-patient share of missed calls.
The caller-behavior figures are from published call-handling research: of callers who don't reach a person, roughly 85% never call back and 62% call a competitor instead (411 Locals, 2024). New-patient value is anchored to Zocdoc's 2024 survey of 351 medical groups, which found a first-year new-patient value of $538 to $1,395. Every source is linked below, and the model is deliberately conservative.
No. It is a transparent model built from public benchmarks, not a measurement of your practice. Use the interactive missed-call calculator to put in your own call volume, miss rate, and patient value and get a number that is yours.
Three ways: we count only new-patient calls (not existing patients who will call back), we apply the 62% competitor-loss rate rather than the higher 85% never-call-back rate, and we assume only half of those lost callers would have booked. Each choice pushes the estimate down.