Canceling appointments in the Rula provider portal

This article provides a step-by-step guide for canceling single and recurring appointments in the Rula provider portal.

On some occasions, you may need to cancel an appointment with a patient. Whenever possible, we ask that you give at least 24 hours' notice before a cancellation. We ask for 24 hours' notice from patients when they need to cancel appointments with therapists as well. Having the same expectations for providers and patients builds a foundation for mutual respect and can help smooth any potentially distressing feelings surrounding cancellations.

The following appointments cannot be canceled from within the Rula provider portal:

• pending initial appointments for new patients that Rula is in the process of confirming
• appointments in the past (they will be marked as appointment did not happen)

Guided Steps

Canceling Initial Appointments or Appointments Requiring a Missed Appointment Note

1. Log in to the Rula provider portal.
2. On the Schedule tab, click on the appointment you wish to cancel. As a reminder, you can only cancel confirmed, future appointments.
3. Click on the three dots in the top corner for more options.
4. Click Cancel Appointment.
5. A pop-up will appear with several options. The options are different depending on whether you wish to cancel a future initial or follow-up appointment.
   • If this is for a future initial appointment and you select I'm not accepting new clients, Rula will pause new patients automatically.
   • If this is for a future follow-up appointment that is less than 24 hours away, and you select client is not available at this time, you must also complete a Missed Appointment note. You will be taken directly to the note by clicking Yes, create note.
     
   • Note: It is vital that you complete the note first or you'll not be paid for the no-show. You will indicate on the note whether the patient should be charged or not.
6. Click Sign note to cancel the appointment.
   • Once an appointment is canceled, you cannot submit a missed appointment note.
7. Once you confirm the note has been signed, the app will begin processing the appointment cancellation. This may take a few seconds to process. Please do not refresh or leave the page until the cancellation is confirmed.
8. Once the appointment has been canceled, a confirmation message with a green checkmark will appear on the screen. The appointment will also automatically be removed from your calendar.
   

Notes: Whenever an initial appointment is canceled, all automatically booked follow-up appointments between that patient and therapist are also canceled. 

Canceling Follow-Up Appointments

If you are canceling follow-up appointments that do not require a missed appointment note, follow the steps below:

1. Log in to the Rula provider portal.
2. On the Schedule tab, click on the appointment you wish to cancel. As a reminder, you can only cancel confirmed, future appointments.
3. Click on the three dots in the top corner for more options.
4. Click Cancel Appointment.
5. If this is a recurring appointment, select whether you would like to cancel the single appointment or the entire series.
6. Choose a cancellation reason.
   • Please note that if you choose "Something else" you will be required to provide further explanation for selecting this option. 
     
7. Click Yes to save.

Note: Canceling an appointment triggers an email to the patient. They will only receive one email, regardless of whether a single appointment or a whole series is canceled.

Canceling appointments that did not occur

If a past appointment did not occur and was neither canceled by the patient nor by Rula Support, you should fill out a Missed Appointment Note and mark the appointment to indicate it did not occur. To do so:

1. Click on the past appointment that did not happen.
2. Click the three dots to view more options.
3. Click Appointment did not happen.
4. Select and confirm the reason for cancellation:
   • Note: Only select EHR/teleconferencing did not work if persistent technical issues prevented the appointment from occurring. As a reminder, conducting the appointment over the phone is a viable alternative if video conferencing is not an option.
5. This will take you to a Missed Appointment Note, which must also be completed.
   
6. Once completed, click Sign Note.
7. You will be asked to confirm with your electronic signature on the note. Click Sign and Submit Note to submit.
   
8. Once complete, you will see a message confirming the note was signed and the action taken, depending on whether the appointment was canceled late or if the patient did not show up. 
   

Viewing Canceled Appointments

Your calendars now show non-canceled events. To view canceled appointments, select the Cancellations checkbox on the left side of the Schedule page.

Once selected, your canceled appointments will appear on your schedule as grey blocks with a strikethrough.

Updated May 13, 2026 17:25