Text follow-up
What happens when a confirmation call goes to voicemail
Most confirmation calls are never answered. With text follow-up, the patient still gets to confirm, move or cancel — and your schedule is up to date before the day arrives.
The confirmation call
Every unconfirmed patient gets a call
Patient answers
They confirm, reschedule or cancel on the call, exactly as they do today.
Voicemail
A message is left — and this is where the follow-up begins.
Moments later
The patient gets a text from your practice
Text message
Hi Maria, this is Harbour Dental. We tried calling about your appointment: Friday, October 16 at 9:00 AM with Dr. Alvarez Reply:
No app, no link, no portal login. Patients reply with a number or in their own words.
Whenever they reply
Each answer finishes the job
Whatever they choose, the result is saved into your practice software.
1 · Confirm
Marked confirmed, and noted as confirmed by text with the date and time.
2 · Reschedule
Real open times at the same office, same provider, same type of visit. The new time is secured before the old one is released.
3 · Cancel
Offered a move first. If they still cancel, the time is freed for someone else and the reason is recorded.
Questions about address, hours or listed prices are answered too. Anything clinical or billing goes to your office line.
The moment the patient is done
You get the outcome and the whole conversation
An email with the patient, the appointment, what they chose and every message back and forth — so nothing happens out of sight. If a patient never replies, nothing changes and the appointment simply stays unconfirmed.
Built-in safeguards
- A patient is told their appointment is set only once it actually is.
- A reschedule never changes the office, the provider or the type of visit.
- Already confirmed? No text is sent at all.
- No clinical advice, and no fees quoted beyond your listed prices.
- Anyone who replies STOP is never texted again.
- Urgent pain or swelling is told to call the office, or 911 if life threatening.
