Physiotherapy and rehab courses: how to schedule sessions and remind patients
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
A physiotherapy or rehab course often breaks off halfway: the patient misses one session and never comes back. To prevent it, book the whole course in the first call on fixed days and times, for example Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:00. Remind the patient the day before the first session, then call only when the schedule changes or they miss one. Rebook a missed session the same day, and book the doctor’s check at the end. An AI operator can make these calls in Uzbek and Russian.
Why courses break off halfway
A course isn’t one visit: for example, 10 sessions over three weeks. After the first few the patient feels better and thinks, “Missing one won’t hurt.” Work, children, travel: there are many reasons. One missed session easily leads to a second. For the clinic it’s an empty slot; for the patient, unfinished treatment. The doctor decides how many sessions are needed; the calls keep the patient on that schedule.
Book the whole course in the first call
- Ask about the doctor’s referral: how many sessions, which procedure, how often a week. No referral? Book a doctor’s visit first.
- Find a fixed time: “Is morning better for you, or after work?” Then offer one schedule: “Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 9:00.”
- Repeat the course back together: “Ten sessions in total, the first this Monday, the last on the Monday three weeks later.”
- Give the clinic’s rules: what to wear, what to bring, how early to come.
- Say how to warn you of a missed session: “If you can’t come, call this number the day before.”
When to call during the course
You don’t need to call before every session: with a fixed schedule it tires the patient. An example:
| When | What to say |
|---|---|
| The day before the first session | Day, time, address, what to bring |
| When the schedule changes | The new time and a check: “Is Friday instead of Thursday all right?” |
| Patient missed a session, same day | “We were expecting you today. Which day shall we move the session to?” |
| Before the last session | Booking the doctor’s final check |
| One or two weeks after the course | “How are you feeling?” and a doctor’s visit if needed |
A missed session: call the same day
Call on the same day, not the next: the patient hasn’t dropped out of the routine yet. Don’t blame them or dig for reasons; offer two new times at once. Whether to extend or stop the course is the doctor’s decision, not the caller’s.
Sado: Assalomu alaykum, this is Shohruh from Harakat rehab centre. Is that Gulnora?
Caller: Yes, it’s me.
Sado: You had your fifth session today at nine, and we were expecting you. Is everything all right?
Caller: Sorry, my child got ill and I couldn’t leave.
Sado: I understand, I hope they’re better soon. Shall we move the session to tomorrow at ten or Saturday at nine?
Caller: Saturday at nine.
Sado: Done, you’re booked for Saturday at nine, and the other sessions stay as they are. Take care!
Handing course calls to an AI operator
When a patient calls to book a course, an AI operator answers in the evening and at weekends too and books sessions by your schedule and rules. If it doesn’t know an answer, it says a manager will call back and creates a task.
For reminders and missed-session calls, you upload a list as an Excel file in the Auto-calls section, for example each evening’s list of today’s no-shows, or your software sends it by API. In AI outbound calls you pick a goal such as “Visit reminder” and set the calling hours. Each call’s recording, transcript and new time are in the portal.
More: AI phone receptionist for clinics. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
Should we remind before every session?
Usually not. With a fixed schedule, call before the first session, when the schedule changes and after a missed one. If the patient asks to be reminded every time, do it.
What if the patient wants to stop the course?
Politely ask why and pass it to the doctor. The doctor decides whether to continue; the operator doesn’t try to talk the patient round.
How much do course reminders cost?
Sado charges only for talked minutes: 800 so‘m a minute. For example, five one-minute calls for one course: 5 × 800 = 4,000 so‘m.