A private physiotherapy clinic in Sketty, Swansea, with four physios and a sports massage therapist, lost roughly one appointment a day to patients who forgot, and another few a week to late cancellations that nobody had time to fill. Text reminders went out automatically the day before, and the patients who missed appointments were, almost by definition, the ones who had not read them.
The businesses in this article are illustrative examples, not named StartAutomate clients.
Key takeaways
- Text reminders work for most patients, and the ones who still miss appointments are usually the ones a phone call reaches.
- An AI agent can call tomorrow's patients, confirm or rebook, and ring the waiting list when a slot opens up.
- It also calls patients who missed a session or stopped booking partway through a course of treatment.
Reminder calls the day before
The agent calls each patient booked for the next day, reminds them of the time and the physio's name, and asks them to confirm. If they cannot make it, it offers other times from the clinic's diary in Cliniko, Jane, TM3 or Pabau and rebooks them there and then.
Clinics usually start with the patients most likely to miss, such as new patients, patients who have missed before, and anyone booked for an early morning slot, rather than calling everybody.
Filling late cancellations
When a patient cancels on the morning of the appointment, the gap is usually lost because nobody has time to ring round. The agent calls patients on the short-notice list for that physio in order until one accepts, then books them in and texts the confirmation.
Physios at clinics running this tend to notice the Monday and Friday gaps first, because those were the days that used to have holes in them by lunchtime.
Patients who stop coming
Plenty of patients start a course of treatment, feel a bit better after two sessions, and stop booking without telling anybody. Some are fine, and some are back three months later with the same knee.
The agent calls patients who have not rebooked within the gap the physio recommended, asks how they are getting on, and offers a follow-up appointment. Anyone reporting new or worse symptoms is passed to a physio to call back that day.
Welsh language and consent
The agent can make calls in English or Welsh, depending on the language recorded on the patient's file, which matters for clinics with Welsh-speaking patients.
Reminder and rebooking calls to existing patients are service calls rather than marketing. Patients who ask not to be called get a note on their record, and the agent sends them texts only from then on.
Common questions
Can AI make appointment reminder calls?
Yes. It calls patients before their appointment, confirms or rebooks them in your clinic diary, and records the outcome.
Does it work with Cliniko or TM3?
We connect to common clinic systems including Cliniko, Jane, TM3, and Pabau so the agent reads the diary and books directly.
Can it call in Welsh?
Yes. It can make calls in English or Welsh based on the patient's language preference.