> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.routiq.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Appointment Reminders

> Send appointment reminders by SMS, call, email, or WhatsApp at any cadence — templated per appointment type, with patient-specific personalisation.

<Info>
  **Why this matters.** Industry no-show rates run 10-30% in allied
  health, and most of those are forgetfulness, not deliberate
  cancellation. A well-timed reminder cuts no-shows by 30-50%
  according to multiple peer-reviewed studies — and the SMS
  cost is a tiny fraction of the lost-appointment revenue it saves.
</Info>

## How it works

For every upcoming appointment in your PMS, Robyn sends reminder messages on the cadence you configure. Defaults: 7 days out (email), 24 hours out (SMS), 2 hours out (SMS). Customisable per appointment type — a 30-min massage probably doesn't need a 7-day reminder; a 2-hour MRI prep might.

If reminders are paired with [appointment confirmations](/outbound/appointment-confirmations), patient replies are parsed automatically — confirmed bookings stay, cancellations free the slot for waitlist patients.

## How Robyn handles reminders

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Templated per appointment type" icon="layer-group">
    Different message for initial consult vs follow-up vs assessment. Each template can include prep instructions, what to bring, parking info.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Patient-specific personalisation" icon="user">
    `{first_name}`, `{appointment_time}`, `{practitioner}`, `{location}`, `{appointment_type}` — and any custom variable from your PMS.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Multi-channel cascade" icon="layer-group">
    SMS first; if patient hasn't read it 4 hours later, fall back to email. Configurable per template.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quiet hours respected" icon="moon">
    Reminders never send between 9pm and 8am local patient time (configurable). Pre-9am bookings handled with previous-evening sends.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What your patient sees

> **Robyn (SMS, 24 hours before):**
>
> *Hi Sarah, this is Robyn from Bondi Physio. Just a reminder of your appointment tomorrow (Fri 9 May) at 2:00pm with Dr Lin.*
>
> *We're at 23 Hall St. Free 2-hr parking on the street. Anything to share before your visit, just reply.*

## Setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a reminder instance">
    **Outbound** → **Create Automatic Instance** → **Appointment Reminders**.

    Name it (e.g. "Standard 24h SMS reminder").
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure the cadence">
    Add one or more "runs" — each run defines:

    * **Channel** — SMS / call / email / WhatsApp
    * **When** — N days/hours before the appointment
    * **Message template** — text Robyn sends, with variables

    Example multi-run setup:

    * Run 1: email, 7 days before
    * Run 2: SMS, 24 hours before
    * Run 3: SMS, 2 hours before

    <Tip>
      Don't over-do it. 3 reminders per appointment is the upper bound — beyond that, patients perceive it as spam and the marginal no-show reduction goes to zero.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Filter by appointment type">
    Choose which appointment types this instance applies to. Most clinics create separate instances for high-value appointments (initial consults, MRI, surgical follow-ups) vs low-value (maintenance massage).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Filter by patient (optional)">
    Exclude or include patients by:

    * **Future appointments** — only remind once per appointment, even if multi-instance overlap
    * **Arrival status** — don't remind chronic-DNA patients (or use a different template)
    * **Custom segment** — see [Patient Segmentation](/features/patient-segmentation)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Activate">
    Toggle the instance to **Active**. Reminders start firing for new and existing future appointments matching the filters.

    Track usage and cost at the bottom of the **Outbound** page.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I send different reminders per practitioner?">
    Yes — create separate instances filtered by practitioner. Useful if Dr X wants formal "Good morning" tone and Dr Y wants casual "Hey".
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What if a patient replies to a reminder?">
    Robyn handles the reply — confirmation parsing, reschedule request, cancellation, or general question. Same logic as inbound SMS.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Will Robyn send a reminder to a patient I've already called?">
    The frequency cap (default: 1 outbound per patient per 7 days) catches this. If you want stricter dedupe, set per-instance frequency caps.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What if my PMS already sends reminders?">
    Disable PMS reminders for the appointment types Routiq is handling — otherwise patients get duplicate texts. Most PMSes have a per-appointment-type reminder toggle.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I include a calendar attachment?">
    Yes — toggle "Include .ics calendar invite" in the template. Email reminders attach a calendar file the patient can add to their phone with one tap.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Appointment confirmations" icon="check-double" href="/outbound/appointment-confirmations">
    Two-way reply parsing — patients confirm, cancel, or reschedule with one word.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Waiting lists" icon="hourglass-half" href="/outbound/waiting-lists">
    Auto-fill cancellations the moment a reminder reply frees a slot.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>