WhatsApp for patients
Automatic reminders and a chatbot that lets patients book, check, cancel, and reschedule.
Hello Homeo can talk to your patients on WhatsApp in two ways: it sends them automatic reminders and updates, and it answers a small set of self-service requests through a chatbot. Patients reach it by messaging your clinic's WhatsApp number.
What your patients can do on WhatsApp
A patient sends hi (or hello, hey, namaste, good morning…) to your clinic's WhatsApp number and the bot replies with a welcome message and this menu. They reply with a number, or type the keyword.
| Reply | What it does |
|---|---|
1 — or status | Check Appointment Status — lists their appointments with a status emoji against each. |
2 — or cancel | Cancel an Appointment — lists their active appointments; they reply with the number, then confirm. |
3 — or reschedule | Reschedule an Appointment — lists active appointments, then asks for a new date and time slot. |
4 — or help | Get Help — shows how to reach the clinic. |
Typing menu or home at any time returns to this list.
How rescheduling over WhatsApp works
- 1
The patient replies 3 (or types reschedule).
- 2
The bot lists their pending and approved appointments; they reply with the number of the one to move.
- 3
They send a new date as
DD/MM/YYYY.It must be a future date, Monday to Saturday.
- 4
They pick a time slot from the clinic's slots (09:00–17:00, excluding the 12:30–13:30 lunch break).
- 5
They confirm. The appointment moves to
Rescheduledand appears in your admin queue for review.A reschedule over WhatsApp is a request — your front desk still approves the new time. See Managing appointments.
Messages that go out automatically
You do not trigger any of these — they fire off the events in the app. Every message counts against your plan's monthly WhatsApp allowance (see Plans and billing).
| When | What the patient receives |
|---|---|
| An appointment is booked | Confirmation that the request was received |
| You approve it | Confirmation with the doctor, date and time |
| You reject or cancel it | A notice with the reason |
| You reschedule it | The new date and time |
| 24 hours before, and again 1 hour before | An appointment reminder |
| The doctor finishes the consultation | Prescription ready |
| The pharmacist dispenses | Medication dispensed |
| 7 days after a consultation | A follow-up reminder (when scheduled) |
Letting patients opt out
Patients are in control of whether they hear from you on WhatsApp.
- STOP
- The patient replies STOP and is unsubscribed from every automatic message. They see “You have been unsubscribed from notifications…”. Both instant messages and scheduled reminders skip them from then on.
- START
- The patient replies START to opt back in, and sees a “Welcome back! You have been re-subscribed…” message.
Turning WhatsApp on for your clinic
WhatsApp messaging runs on the platform's Twilio connection, not on a switch inside your admin portal — there is no WhatsApp settings screen to fill in. To have it enabled for your clinic, and to have the automatic reminders actually delivered, ask the Hello Homeo team to:
- Connect your clinic to the WhatsApp sending number, so inbound messages reach your clinic.
- Switch on the scheduled reminder job — without it, the 24-hour and 1-hour reminders are prepared but never sent.
For the full picture of every channel — email, WhatsApp and the in-app bell — see Notifications.