The channel patients actually read — conversations, templates and queued sending.
WhatsApp is the primary channel for appointment confirmations, reminders and quick follow-up, because read rates are far higher than email. Conversations are visible in the platform, messages are queued so delivery can be retried, and templates keep repeated messages consistent.
What you can do here
- See WhatsApp conversations with patients
- Get an unread counter in the header
- Send messages from the platform
- Use maintained message templates
- Have confirmations and reminders sent automatically
- Re-send messages that failed
- Have delivery status reported back
Working conversations
- 1
Open WhatsApp from the header
The icon carries an unread count.
- 2
Pick a conversation
Conversations are matched to the patient where the number is recognised.
- 3
Reply
The message is queued and sent, and recorded against the patient.
Tip
If an inbound number is not matched to anyone, it is usually a new enquiry. Create the patient from it so the conversation is not lost.
Message templates
Templates are maintained under Settings › WhatsApp Templates and are used by both manual sending and automation.
- Keep confirmations, reminders and follow-ups consistent across the team
- Automated appointment messages use these templates
- Templates can carry the patient's details so the message reads personally
Automatic WhatsApp messages
- WhatsApp is attempted first for appointment messages, with email sent in parallel
- Nothing is sent for appointments tagged as moved or cancelled
- Internal calendars such as the operation room never message patients
| Message | When |
|---|---|
| Booking confirmation | Around an hour after an appointment is created. |
| Appointment reminder | The day before the appointment. |
| Workflow messages | Whenever a workflow with a WhatsApp step runs. |
| Scheduled messages | Queued messages are processed on a schedule. |
Queueing, delivery and failures
- Messages go through a queue rather than being fired directly, so a temporary outage does not lose them
- Delivery status is reported back and recorded
- Where a message failed because of a bad number, correct the number and use the resend page to try again
Careful
WhatsApp depends on the clinic's connection being live. If it drops, appointment messages still go out by email — but manual conversations will wait. Ask an administrator to check the connection if sending stops working.
Good practice
- Store mobile numbers in international format; imported numbers are normalised for Switzerland automatically
- Keep clinical detail out of WhatsApp — use it for logistics and use email or the patient app for anything sensitive
- Write in the patient's preferred language, which is recorded on their record
Related pages
Last updated September 2025. Screens may differ slightly depending on your plan and role.