Recall campaigns
Send the right reminder to patients who are due for a check-up or follow-up.
Overview
Recalls are scheduled-but-not-yet-booked future appointments. A recall campaign sends reminders to a batch of due/overdue recalls so they convert to bookings.
Prerequisites
- Owner, Admin, Dentist, or Receptionist role
- Active recall rules (see Creating a recall rule)
- Recipients with valid phones/emails
Steps
Open Recalls. Top nav → Recalls.
Filter to Due or Overdue. Tabs at the top.
Select recipients. Tick checkboxes for patients you want to message; or Select all in tab for the full batch.
Click "Send recall messages".
Pick channel and template. SMS or email. Pick from the recall-specific templates that include the patient's recall reason and due date.
Preview a sample. Verify variable substitution.
Confirm and send. Each recipient gets one message; status logged.
Track conversions. Open the Recalls page after a few days. Recalls that converted to bookings move out of the Due tab.
Expected outcome
- Per-recipient
CommunicationLogrows - Patients who book after receiving the message attribute to the recall campaign
- Conversion rate visible in Reports → Communications
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Some recalls absent | Filter too narrow | Check filters for date and reason |
| Patient already booked but received message | Campaign sent before booking | Acceptable — patient sees confirmation; consider 24h refresh window |
| Low conversion | Generic message | Iterate on template wording — specific dates and reasons help |
| Messages bounced | Stale phone numbers | Run a list cleanup |
| Want to schedule | Not supported in current UI | Send manually; schedule via auto-recall rule instead |