Reminders aren't arriving

1. The appointment has no phone number

Almost always this.

An appointment created by hand without a number has nowhere to send a reminder. It's normal for walk-ins, or for bookings taken at the desk where nobody asked for the number.

How to check: open the appointment in the dashboard and look at the phone field.

How to fix: add the number to the appointment and to the patient's record. Reminders whose time hasn't passed will still go out.

How to avoid it: always ask for the phone number when creating an appointment by hand. See Home.

2. The appointment was booked with too little notice

An appointment created less than two hours ahead can't get the 2-hour reminder — that moment has already passed. Same for the 24-hour one on anything booked for today or early tomorrow.

Not a fault. There simply isn't time.

3. The appointment is cancelled

Reminders for a cancelled appointment aren't sent, and pending ones are voided on cancellation. Check the status in the dashboard.

4. WhatsApp isn't connected

If no patient is getting reminders, it isn't an isolated case — it's the connection.

See Connect WhatsApp and point 6 of The bot isn't replying.

5. The patient blocked the number

If the patient blocked the clinic's number in WhatsApp there's nothing to be done from the system side. You can spot it because that patient stops receiving everything, including the bot's replies.

6. The patient did get it

Worth ruling out. Reminders go to the WhatsApp of the registered number; if the patient gave a relative's phone, or changed numbers without telling you, the message went elsewhere.

The appointment detail shows the status of each reminder. If it says sent, it left our side.

About duplicates

If a patient reports getting a reminder twice, tell us. It shouldn't happen, and it's useful information.