Updated 2026-08-04 · 3 min read
Of everything that can be automated at a physiotherapy clinic, the reminder is what gets results fastest. It's also the easiest to turn into spam: three messages per session and people mute them, at which point the reminder stops existing for precisely those who need it most.
How many: one, or two if the session is late in the day
One the day before covers most cases. The second, on the same day in the morning, only makes sense if the session is in the afternoon: reminding someone at 8:00 of a 9:00 appointment changes nothing, because whoever was coming is already on their way and whoever wasn't won't make it now.
More than two per session doesn't lower no-shows: it raises the number of people who leave the channel.
When: 24 hours before, not 48
With 48 hours, people confirm and then forget all the same. With less than 12, if someone says they can't come there's no longer time to offer that slot to someone else.
Twenty-four hours is the point where confirmation is still reliable and the freed slot can still be filled.
The wording: ask for confirmation, and make saying no easy
A reminder that only informs gives you no information back. One that asks turns silence into data, and the reply into a slot you can recover.
And cancelling should be easy, not awkward. It sounds counter-intuitive, but a clinic that makes it hard to give notice doesn't get people to turn up: it gets them not to give notice.
| Version | What it produces |
|---|---|
| «This is a reminder of your session tomorrow at 10:00.» | It informs. Whoever isn't planning to come doesn't reply either |
| «Could you confirm you'll be able to make it? If it doesn't suit you, let me know and we'll change it.» | Confirmations, and cancellations with 24 h to spare |
| «If you don't confirm, you'll lose the session from your pack.» | Defensive confirmations and the odd bad review |
And when they confirm, make it count
A «yes» that nobody reads and that changes nothing in the calendar is wasted work. The confirmation has to be marked on the appointment, so that a glance at the day shows who has said they're coming and who hasn't replied.
That «hasn't replied» list is, in practice, the list of who to call if the day needs filling.
How ClaudIA does it
Reminders go out on their own, in the language the patient writes in, with the wording the clinic has chosen. Whoever confirms is marked in the calendar; whoever says they can't make it is cancelled and their slot is free again straight away.
And if there's a waiting list, that slot is offered to whoever was waiting for it without anyone having to remember.
Questions clinics ask
Can the reminder wording be changed? Yes, from the dashboard. The default wording asks for confirmation and invites them to change the time, which is what works best, but each clinic writes its own.
Does it count as marketing and need consent? A reminder of an appointment the patient booked themselves is a service communication, not marketing. What does need consent is sending them promotions.
What happens if the patient replies to the reminder with something else? The conversation carries on normally: asking to change the time, asking about the pack or whatever it is. It isn't a closed message.
Is there a reminder for each session in a series? Yes, every session in the series has its own. Cancelling one doesn't cancel the rest.