Cut no-shows with reminders, then follow up after the visit

Fewer empty chairs, and patients who feel looked after between visits.

Good for

• Clinics
• Dental centers
• Physiotherapy and aesthetics

The situation

A forgotten appointment is a lost hour for the doctor. And after a procedure, patients often have a small question or a worry they do not want to call about. An automatic reminder before the visit and a short check-in after it solve both, and the second often turns into the next booking.

How it works

The reminder is automatic once bookings are in tkana:

Your teamBooking is created or confirmed

tkanaSends the confirmation, then a WhatsApp reminder 2 hours before (by default)

CustomerReplies to reschedule or cancel if needed

tkanaMoves or cancels the booking in the chat

Before the visit

The check-in after the visit starts with a template you send, and your agent handles the replies:

Your teamSends a follow-up template to yesterday's patients

CustomerReplies with how they feel

tkanaBooks a follow-up, or flags a worrying reply as urgent

Your teamCalls the patient about urgent tickets

After the visit

What the conversation looks like

Agent: Hello Maha, how are you feeling since your dental procedure on Monday?

Customer: The pain is getting worse and I have a fever.

Agent: I’m sorry to hear that. Please call the clinic directly now. I’ve also alerted our team as urgent so they can reach you.

And for a patient who is doing well:

Customer: All good, thank you. When should I come for the check-up?

Agent: I’m glad to hear it. Dr. Omar has Thursday at 4 pm or Saturday at 11 am for your check-up. Which suits you?

What you switch on

1. Install Book appointments and enter your Staff notification email. This sets up the booking notifications, including the reminder 2 hours before the appointment (by default).
2. Connect your WhatsApp number so confirmations and reminders can reach patients, then check in Settings > Notifications that the booking messages are Active. See Booking notifications and reminders.
3. Install Customer follow-up. It asks one clear question about the visit and opens a ticket for anything unresolved. Then add a rule to Additional Guidelines such as “In a follow-up, never comment on symptoms or medication. If a patient describes pain, fever, or a worsening symptom, tell them to call the clinic now and open a high-priority ticket.” See Write your content, FAQs, and guidelines.
4. Optional: add a rule for refill requests, such as “When a patient asks for a prescription refill, open a ticket for the medical team.” Check that Support tickets has a Support team email so these tickets reach your team.
5. Create a follow-up template and send it to the previous day’s patients. See Create a WhatsApp template and Send a WhatsApp campaign.

What your team sees

• Booking changes in the calendar as patients reschedule or cancel, with an email for each cancellation.
• Urgent tickets for worrying replies, at the top of the tickets board, with an email to your support address. See Work tickets on the board and table.
• No-shows: mark a booking No-show in the calendar to keep an honest record. See Understand booking statuses.

Tips and limits

• A booking made less than 2 hours ahead gets no reminder with the default timing, because the reminder time has already passed.
• Editing a WhatsApp notification sends it back to Meta for review, and that message pauses until it is approved.
• The agent can cancel or reschedule a booking at any time before it starts. Add your cancellation policy to the knowledge base so the agent can explain it.
• Follow-up templates are billed by Meta to the payment method on your own Meta account, not from your tkana credits.

Caution

Your agent never interprets symptoms or advises on medication. Its job in a follow-up is to listen, tell the patient to contact the clinic when something sounds wrong, and alert your team.