Today: the nurse rings round the stand-ins
A cancelled appointment is filled by the waiting list
On Wednesday afternoon a patient cancels her Friday appointment. Two days are left and the nurse rings round between patients to find someone who could come. If she does not manage it, the chair stands empty on Friday.
How it works
- A patient who wants to come sooner puts themselves on the waiting list.
- As soon as someone cancels in advance, an SMS with a link goes out to the stand-ins.
- The appointment goes to whoever confirms first. A missed appointment is never offered this way — nobody can fill that one.
What you do
Nothing, the list contacts the patients on its own.
Common objections
- Will patients be getting SMS all the time?
- An SMS goes out only for an appointment cancelled in advance, and only to patients who put themselves on the list.
- What if two confirm at once?
- The first one gets it. The second is shown that it is taken and stays on the list.
- Do we pay for those messages?
- You pay for the messages that go out, and you see the count and the cost as you go. The waiting-list message type can be switched off.