Guide for clinic owners
How to remind patients to come back for their check-ups
Many patients need to come back: for a blood sugar or blood pressure review, a dental check-up, an eye test or a follow-up after treatment. Life gets busy, and many simply forget.
A short, kind reminder at the right time helps them come back. Here is a simple way to do it without annoying anyone.
Know who is due, and when
The doctor or clinician decides when each patient should come back. Write that date down at the end of the visit, not later.
- Keep one list: the patient's name, phone number, the reason for the next visit and the date it is due.
- Note whether the patient agreed to be reminded.
- Look at the list once a week.
Ask permission first
At the end of the visit, ask: "Can we send you a reminder on WhatsApp when your next check-up is due?" Write down the answer.
Only remind patients who said yes, and stop at once if anyone asks you to.
Send reminders at the right time
- About a week before the due date, so the patient can plan.
- On the due date, if they haven't booked yet.
- Once more a few weeks later if they still haven't come. Then stop.
Send them in the daytime, during your opening hours, never late at night.
Keep the message short and private
Someone else may see the patient's phone, so keep it general: name the visit, like "your check-up", never the illness or the treatment.
For example: "Hello Amina, this is Sunrise Clinic. Your check-up is due this month. Reply with a day that suits you and we will book it."
Make booking the next step easy
Every reminder should let the patient book in one step: reply with a day, or pick a time from a list. Don't ask them to call.
When they reply, offer two or three real times and confirm the booking in writing.
Look after patients who don't come back
If a patient with a long-term condition hasn't come back after the reminders, ask a nurse or doctor whether someone should call them. A call from someone they know can matter more than another message.
A simple weekly routine
- Monday: add last week's patients and their due dates to the list.
- Midweek: send reminders to patients due next week.
- Friday: check who booked, and who might need a call.
For your clinic
How Miadi helps
Miadi is an AI receptionist on your clinic's WhatsApp. With the Check-up reminders add-on, it keeps the list and sends the reminders for you:
- You set how often each service needs a check-up. Miadi works out each patient's due date from their last completed visit.
- It only reminds patients who said yes, and it stops when a patient asks it to.
- It sends a reminder when the check-up is due and at most one follow-up, in the daytime, during your opening hours.
- Patients can reply to book a time, ask to be reminded later, or stop the reminders.
- The reminders are fixed, polite messages with the patient's first name, the service and your clinic's name. Give services general names, like "Check-up" or "Review". No AI writes them.
- Ask for the add-on on your Add-ons page. Your price is confirmed with you first.