Appointment reminder texts
Cut missed appointments with a timely text the day before, sent automatically at the time you choose.
Read moreSMS for clinics and healthcare providers
Help patients turn up at the right time and place with clear, discreet text reminders. Orbis SMS gives clinics a simple way to send one-off and bulk messages without adding to reception workload.
The challenge
Why healthcare & clinics turn to SMS
Clinics run on tight appointment books, and every missed slot is clinician time that cannot be recovered. Patients change numbers, ignore letters and miss voicemails, while reception teams spend the first hour of the day phoning people to confirm or rearrange. Last-minute cancellations are hard to fill because there is no quick way to tell patients that an earlier slot has opened. When a clinic has to close a room, change its hours or move a session, staff need to reach many people quickly, and they need to do it without revealing anything about why those patients are being seen.
How Orbis SMS helps
Messages that make a difference
- 1
Appointment reminders
Send a short reminder a day or two before each appointment with the date, time and location, plus a number to call if the patient needs to rearrange. Scheduling lets you prepare reminders in advance, so reception is not sending them by hand each morning and patients get them at a sensible time.
- 2
Cancellation and rebooking notices
If a clinician is unwell or a session has to move, send one bulk message to the affected patients explaining that the appointment needs to change and how to rebook. It reaches people faster than a letter and reduces the number of patients arriving at a closed room or an empty waiting area.
- 3
Short-notice availability
Keep a group of patients who have said they are happy to take an earlier appointment at short notice. When a slot opens, text that group so the first person to call can take it, rather than leaving a clinician with an unused half hour and a patient waiting longer than necessary.
- 4
Clinic service updates
Let registered patients know about changed opening hours, bank holiday arrangements, a new car park entrance or a move to a different building. Saving the updates you send every year as templates keeps the wording consistent, already approved and quick to reuse when the time comes round again.
- 5
Patient portal sign-in codes
If you run an online booking system or patient portal, Verify can send one-time passcodes by SMS for sign-in and password resets. It adds a simple check that the person logging in has access to the mobile number held on the record, which helps protect patient accounts.
Good practice
Compliance notes for healthcare & clinics
Keep health information out of the message itself. A reminder should give the date, time and place, not the name of a department, test or condition that could reveal something sensitive to anyone who sees the phone. Check that the number belongs to the patient, record their preference for SMS contact and follow your information governance policies and any NHS guidance that applies to you. Service messages are not marketing, but promotional texts about private treatments need consent.
General information only, not legal advice. See our guide to UK SMS marketing rules and Acceptable Use Policy.
Use cases
Popular with healthcare & clinics
Booking confirmation texts
Confirm bookings instantly with the date, time and details customers need to hand.
Read more
Emergency and service alerts
Tell people quickly about closures, outages and disruption when every minute counts.
Read moreQuestions
Frequently asked questions
Appointment reminders are service messages rather than marketing, so the PECR marketing consent rules do not usually apply. You still need a lawful basis under UK GDPR to use the patient's number, and you should respect anyone who asks not to receive texts. This is general information, so check with your data protection lead.
For now, most clinics include a phone number in the reminder so patients can rearrange by calling. Opt-out requests made with STOP are handled on the platform so those patients are not texted again.
You can request a sender ID such as your clinic name, subject to approval. A recognisable sender helps patients trust the reminder and makes it less likely to be mistaken for a scam. Named senders cannot receive replies, so always include a contact number in the message.
More industries
See how others use Orbis SMS
Industry
Dental practices
Recall prompts, appointment reminders and practice news for NHS and private dental teams.
Industry
Salons & beauty
Booking confirmations, reminders and rebook prompts for salons, barbers and therapists.
Industry
Restaurants & hospitality
Table confirmations, event promotions and shift alerts for venues and hospitality teams.