Services
Explore
Free AI assessmentAnswer 15 questions about one process and see where AI could help.
Start an assessmentMake appointment reminders easier to manage
Connect reminders, replies and rescheduling to an agreed booking process, with exceptions passed to your team. Patients are contacted by the channel they have chosen, and staff handle replies the system cannot.
An automated reminder process sends messages before each appointment by the channel the patient has chosen, lets patients confirm, cancel or ask to rebook, and passes anything unusual to reception. Results vary between practices, so measure your own missed-appointment rate before and after any change.
See it run
Viewing coordination agent in practice
The workflow as it runs day to day, with a person signing off at the end. Sample data.
Viewing coordination agentCountrywide viewing coordination: the agent reads a viewing request, finds a free slot in the negotiator’s Outlook diary, texts the applicant a confirmation and asks for feedback after the viewing
The problem
Why missed appointments are hard to manage
An automated reminder process sends messages before each appointment by the channel the patient has chosen, lets patients confirm, cancel or ask to rebook, and passes anything unusual to reception. Results vary between practices, so measure your own missed-appointment rate before and after any change.
A missed appointment leaves a slot that is hard to fill at short notice. Phoning patients to confirm takes reception time and only reaches the people who answer.
Reminders linked to your booking system let replies update the diary, cancelled slots be offered to other patients and recall messages go out on schedule. Staff decide what happens with replies the system cannot handle, and speak to patients who prefer a call.
How it works
What the reminder process covers
SMS or email reminders at intervals you set for each appointment type, using the contact preferences patients have given.
Patients can reply to cancel or ask to rebook. Supported changes update the diary, and other replies go to reception.
Patients due a routine follow-up receive recall messages at intervals you set. Your clinical team decides who is recalled and when.
Reports showing which appointment types and times are missed most, so you can adjust reminder timing and check whether a change helped.
How we help
Working with Reformat Labs
We build and support appointment reminder systems for private healthcare practices, connected to your booking process where your system allows.
Our page on AI for healthcare practices covers other admin tasks we can help with.
Common questions
Questions about reducing patient no-shows
How do we work out what missed appointments cost us?
Count missed appointments by type over a recent period and multiply by the fee for each type. Count the lost fee once. The room and the clinician's time are mostly fixed costs, so they are not an extra loss on top of the fee, though they matter when the slot could have been filled.
What do automated appointment reminders involve?
Messages sent at set intervals before each appointment, replies handled for supported actions such as confirming or cancelling, and recall messages for patients due a routine follow-up. Staff deal with replies the system cannot handle and with patients who want to speak to someone.
How does this differ from basic SMS reminders?
Basic reminders are one-way. A connected system reads replies, updates the booking for supported changes and passes other replies to staff. Whether the extra setup is worth it depends on how many replies reception handles now. For some practices, the reminders built into their existing software are enough.
How is patient data handled?
Contact details and appointment information are personal data, and some of it is health data. With you, we work out the rules that apply, including consent for messages and who can see what, and agree the safeguards before the system contacts patients.
Can this integrate with my practice management system?
It depends on what your system allows. We check its connection options, such as an API or built-in messaging, during scoping and design around them.
Talk to us
Tell us how the task works today
Bring the task that takes your team the most time. We reply within one working day.