Three different messages
Under Manage → Communication, three things are kept separate on purpose:
- Reminders go before an appointment.
- Appointment confirmations go the moment a booking is made.
- Recalls chase a patient who has not been back for a while.
Four decisions for reminders
- When. How far ahead, and optionally a set time. Without a set time, each reminder goes that far before its own appointment. With one, everyone due that day is reminded together at a sensible hour.
- How. SMS, email, or both.
- Who. Every appointment by default, or narrow it so a five-minute check-in does not get a message.
- What it says. The wording is patient-facing, so read it in full at least once.
The screen sums up your policy in one sentence at the top. If the sentence does not describe what you want, nothing below it will.
Patients confirm by replying
Reminders are two-way. A patient replies YES and the appointment is marked confirmed. Any other reply, "can I come at 4 instead?", lands in the shared inbox under Communication, where anyone at the desk can answer it and rebook in the diary.
Rules that protect your patients
- Quiet hours. Nothing sends between 8 pm and 8 am, whatever the settings say.
- Never twice. A patient is never reminded twice about the same appointment. That is enforced by the database itself, not just the screen.
- Each site speaks for itself. At a practice with more than one site, a message names the right site, address and phone. See multi-site physio practices.
What it costs
SMS reminders and messages are 10 cents a text, and patients' replies come into the shared inbox free. A long text counts as two or three. Email is free: reminders, confirmations, invoices and letters, as many as you send.
Did it go?
The dashboard's Reminders sent card shows what was sent, what failed and what was skipped, with the reason. A patient with no mobile on file is skipped, and that is the fixable one.
Recalls
A patient who has not been back in a while often just needs a nudge. Recalls go automatically to patients who have dropped away, and the replies come into the same inbox. More ideas in how to reduce no-shows.
Forms by link, too
Send an intake form link with the confirmation, so a new patient fills in their history before they arrive. See intake forms and the patient portal.
Before you switch it on
Put your own mobile on a test patient, book them, and read what arrives: the wording, the sender and the hour it lands.
Frequently asked questions
Can physio software send SMS reminders automatically?
Yes. Clinidiary sends SMS and email reminders automatically at the time you choose, never between 8 pm and 8 am.
Can patients confirm by text?
Yes. A patient replies YES and the appointment is confirmed. Other replies come into the shared inbox.
How much do SMS reminders cost?
10 cents a text. Replies are free, and email reminders are free.
What is the difference between a reminder and a recall?
A reminder is about an appointment already booked. A recall is for a patient who has not booked again.