If you miss a doctors appointment, should you have to pay a fee?

My daughter had her 2 month shot appointment today and her appointment was at 10:10.

It’s a 15 minute drive from my house so we left at 9:30.

On the way there, the interstate was backed up due to a wreck, and at 10:05 I called her pediatrician to let them know we’d be late. The receptionist let us know that if we’re more than 15 minutes late, we will not be seen and we will have to pay a $30 fee.

Of course, we didn’t get there until 10:30 and I had to reschedule and pay the fee.

I wasn’t sure if this was a common practice & I was curious to see what your thoughts were.

Do you think you should pay a fee if you’re late or don’t show to an appointment?

Are their circumstances that could change this?