Patient Reminder System  ·  Process Overview

How we keep your chairs full and your patients informed.

An automated reminder pipeline that reaches every patient on their preferred channel — WhatsApp, then SMS, then a live or AI voice call — recovers no-shows before they happen, and routes cancellations straight to your front desk for a human follow-up.

WhatsApp first, SMS fallback 6-hour voice call (human or AI) Excel-driven, zero manual entry Live front-desk dashboard
Day 0
Upload patient list
T − 48h
WhatsApp reminder sent
T − 24h
SMS fallback (if unread)
T − 6h
Voice call (human / AI)
Ongoing
Confirm · Cancel · Rebook
Drag to scrub
Patient list uploaded
1
Input · Day 0

Load the day's patients from a single Excel file

Your staff export or fill in the appointment list and drop it into the system. Each row carries the patient name, mobile number, and appointment date & time — nothing else to configure. The system validates the file and queues every appointment automatically.

Input: .xlsx / .csv Required: Name · Phone · Date/Time Result: Reminders scheduled per row
2
Reminder · 48 hours before

Send one WhatsApp reminder via API

Exactly 48 hours before the appointment, the system calls the messaging API and sends a single WhatsApp message. The patient can reply right inside the chat — confirm, cancel, or ask to rebook — using quick-reply buttons.

Interactive · tap a reply to see what happens
C
City Health Clinic
WHATSAPP
Hi Sarah 👋 This is a reminder of your appointment with Dr. Lee on Thu 4 Jun, 10:30 AM. Please confirm below. 09:00 ✓✓
✓ Confirm ✕ Cancel ↻ Rebook
3
Decision · Read-receipt check

Did the patient read the WhatsApp message?

The system watches the delivery and read status returned by the API. This single check decides whether the patient needs a second nudge on another channel.

✓✓ Read

Message marked as read. No further reminder is sent — we simply wait for the patient's response and reflect it on the dashboard.

Not read by T − 24h

Delivered but unread (or undelivered). The system automatically escalates to the SMS fallback in Step 4.

4
Fallback · 24 hours before

No read status? Send an SMS instead

If the WhatsApp message is still unread at the 24-hour mark, the system sends the same reminder over plain SMS, so patients without WhatsApp still get reached. The SMS carries the same options — confirm, cancel, or request a rebook — by replying with a keyword.

C
City Health Clinic
SMS
Reminder: appt with Dr. Lee Thu 4 Jun 10:30AM. Reply YES to confirm, NO to cancel, or REBOOK to change. 10:30 · delivered
YES NO REBOOK
5
Last-mile backup · 6 hours before

Still silent? Place a voice call

If there's still no confirmation or reply after both WhatsApp and SMS, the system triggers a phone call at the 6-hour mark — the final safety net before the appointment. The call can be handled two ways, and you can switch between them per clinic or per day:

📞 Human assistant

The patient appears on a "Call now" list. Your assistant phones to confirm, cancel, or rebook, then marks the outcome — the personal touch for high-value or elderly patients.

🤖 AI voice agent

An automated voice agent calls, confirms the appointment, and captures the response by voice — scalable, available out of hours, and frees your staff. Anything it can't resolve is escalated to a human.

Trigger: No reply after WhatsApp + SMS Channel: Voice (Twilio Programmable Voice) Mode: Human ⇄ AI, configurable
6
Response · Handling the reply

Capture the response — including cancellations & rebooks

Whatever channel the patient used, their reply is captured and categorised. A confirmation closes the loop quietly. A cancellation or rebook request is flagged immediately and pushed to the dashboard as an action item for your team.

✓ Confirmed

Marked confirmed. No action needed — appointment stands.

✕ Cancelled

Slot freed and flagged. Patient asked if they'd like to rebook.

↻ Rebook requested

Added to the follow-up queue for a personal call from your team.

7
Human follow-up · Front desk

Your assistant calls back to rebook

Cancellations and rebook requests never get lost — whether they came in by WhatsApp reply, SMS, or during the 6-hour voice call. They surface on the dashboard's "Needs follow-up" queue, where your assistant can see who to call, why, and when. After the call, they mark the appointment rebooked or closed — keeping the record clean.

Trigger: Cancel / Rebook reply Owner: Clinic assistant Action: Manual call & reschedule Close: Status updated on dashboard
Sample messages

The exact wording patients receive at each stage. Fields in {green} are filled automatically from your Excel file.

① WhatsApp · 48h reminder
C
City Health Clinic
WHATSAPP
Hi {name} 👋 This is a reminder of your appointment with {doctor} on {date}, {time}. Please confirm below so we can keep your slot. 09:00 ✓✓
✓ Confirm✕ Cancel↻ Rebook
② WhatsApp · after "Confirm"
C
City Health Clinic
WHATSAPP
Thank you, {name} 🙏 Your appointment on {date} at {time} is confirmed. Please arrive 10 minutes early. See you soon! 09:01 ✓✓
③ WhatsApp · after "Cancel / Rebook"
C
City Health Clinic
WHATSAPP
No problem, {name}. We've released your slot. Would you like us to help you find a new time? Our team will call you shortly to reschedule. 📞 09:02 ✓✓
Yes, call meNot now
④ SMS · 24h fallback
C
City Health Clinic
SMS
Reminder: appt with {doctor} on {date} {time}. Reply YES to confirm, NO to cancel, or REBOOK to change. - City Health Clinic 10:30 · delivered
⑤ SMS · after "YES"
C
City Health Clinic
SMS
Thanks {name}! Your appointment on {date} at {time} is confirmed. Reply STOP to opt out of reminders. 10:34 · delivered
⑥ SMS · after "NO / REBOOK"
C
City Health Clinic
SMS
Your appointment has been cancelled. We'd love to find you another time — our team will call you to reschedule. Thank you. 10:36 · delivered
Sample voices — the 6-hour call

Press play to hear how the call sounds. These are the actual neural voices we'd put on the line — not a browser placeholder.

🤖

AI voice agent — confirmation

Automated · scalable · out-of-hours
Hello, this is an automated call from City Health Clinic. This is a reminder for Sarah Mensah's appointment with Dr. Lee on Thursday, June 4th at 10:30 AM. To confirm, press 1. To cancel or reschedule, press 2. To hear this again, press 9. Thank you.
📞

Try it — place an AI reminder call

Demo · plays the same voice you just heard
Idle
Press "Place call" to start. You'll hear the AI agent speak, then respond using the keypad — exactly like a real patient call.

These samples were rendered offline with Kokoro TTS — an open-source (Apache 2.0) 82M-parameter neural voice model. A live deployment uses the same class of natural voice delivered over Twilio Programmable Voice.

The dashboard your front desk lives in

A single live view of every patient: who's been reminded, on which channel, who confirmed, and who needs a call back. Below is a representative layout.

City Health Clinic — Reminders

LIVE
128
Appointments loaded
96
Confirmed
19
Awaiting reply
13
Needs follow-up
92%
Reach rate
PatientAppointmentChannelStatusNext action
Sarah MensahThu 4 Jun · 10:30 WhatsApp · read Confirmed
David OwusuThu 4 Jun · 11:15 WhatsApp → SMS → 📞 call Calling now Human assistant dialling
Joyce AdjeiThu 4 Jun · 13:00 SMS → 🤖 AI call Confirmed by voice
Ama BoatengFri 5 Jun · 09:00 SMS · delivered Rebook requested Call to reschedule
Kwame AsareFri 5 Jun · 14:30 WhatsApp · read Cancelled Offer new slot
Linda TettehSat 6 Jun · 08:45 WhatsApp · read Confirmed
Phased rollout · Start small, grow
How we ramp up your clinic

From your first SMS reminder on day one to a fully automated front-desk operation. You only turn on what you need, when you need it.

Foundation · what we ship together
💬

SMS reminders

Start here. We schedule a reminder SMS to every patient in your daily list — typically at T − 24 hours. Patients call your front desk to confirm or cancel. Live the same day, on top of your existing Excel workflow.

Live in daysOne-way SMSGhana sender ID
🔀

Multi-channel pipeline

Layer WhatsApp at 48h ahead, keep SMS as the 24h fallback, and add a voice call (human or AI) at 6h if the patient still hasn't replied. Two-way replies, read receipts, and the live dashboard — the full demo above.

WhatsApp + SMS + Voice2-way repliesLive dashboard
Phase 2 add-ons · opt in when you're ready
📅

Calendar sync

Connect to your existing scheduling system — Google Calendar, Outlook, Cliniko, Dentally, Jane or your in-house PMS. Rebooks are offered against your real available slots, with no double-booking and no manual transcription.

How it activates Connect via OAuth (Google / Outlook) or your PMS's API key during a 15-minute onboarding call. Read-only by default — we never write back to your calendar.
Read-onlyOne connector per systemNo data re-entry
⏱️

Smart slot capacity

Define your services once and the system schedules around them: 1-hour consultation at 1 patient per slot, 30-min check at 5 in parallel, follow-ups, lunch breaks, room turnover — all respected automatically.

How it activates Define your services once in our dashboard, or inherit them automatically from your connected PMS. Edit anytime — changes apply on the next reminder cycle.
Per-service rulesBuffer timeMulti-room aware
🌙

24/7 AI receptionist

After hours, weekends and holidays, an inbound AI agent answers common questions — opening times, location, fees, prep instructions — and captures detailed notes for your team to follow up the next morning. No patient enquiry goes cold.

How it activates When your team clocks off, just forward your existing CS line to the AI agent — calls flow straight to us. Switch forwarding off and they're back with your team. No new number, no IT setup, no phone-system changes.
Voice + WhatsAppAuto note-takingHuman handover