The short answer
Turn on the reminders built into your scheduling or practice management system. Send a confirmation email when the appointment is booked and a reminder a day or two before that asks the patient to confirm, with a short text as the last nudge for patients who agreed to texts. Keep every message about the appointment only, with no clinical details or offers, send from your own authenticated domain, and judge the setup by your confirmation and no-show rates.
Why reminders help
Many missed appointments are simply forgotten, especially when the visit was booked weeks or months ahead. A reminder brings the date back to mind and gives the patient an easy way to confirm or move it, which turns a silent no-show into a cancellation you can refill.
The research supports this. A Cochrane review of eight randomized trials found that text message reminders raised attendance compared with no reminder and worked about as well as phone calls at lower cost, though the evidence was low to moderate quality. Reminder email is one part of a wider plan; see reducing no-shows for the policy, follow-up and short-notice list.
Email, text or both
Each channel has a job:
- •Email: room for the address, parking, what to bring, forms to complete and a calendar file. Best for the booking confirmation and the first reminder.
- •Text: short and usually seen quickly. Best for the final reminder and the reply to confirm, sent only to patients who agreed to receive texts, with a simple way to stop.
Ask each patient at intake how they prefer to be reminded and record it. Our text messaging guide covers permission, opt-out and wording for the text side.
A simple schedule
There is no single proven timing, so start simple and adjust based on your own data:
- •At booking: a confirmation email with every detail and a calendar file.
- •One or two days before: a reminder that asks the patient to confirm with one tap or a reply. Allow enough notice that a freed slot can still be offered to someone else.
- •Optional, same day: a short text a few hours before, only for appointment types where no-shows persist.
For visits booked months ahead, such as six-month cleanings, add an email about a week before so patients can plan around work or childcare. Have the front desk call anyone who has not confirmed by the day before.
What to write
Put the essentials at the top, in plain words, so the email works even if the patient only reads the preview. An example confirmation, with merge fields in brackets:
Subject: Your visit on [Day, Date] at [Time]
Hi [First name], you are booked with [Practice name] on [Day, Date] at [Time]. We are at [Address] ([map link]). Please bring your insurance card and a list of current medicines. Tap here to confirm: [confirm link]. Need a different time? Reschedule online: [reschedule link], or call [phone].
- •Put the date and time in the subject line.
- •Make confirm and reschedule clear buttons or links, not instructions to reply with a code.
- •Say your visit rather than naming a procedure or condition. Keep clinical details out of reminders.
- •Leave out offers and newsletters. A reminder should do one job.
- •Link to your own website and use a sender name patients recognize, such as the practice name.
Setting it up
Most practice management and scheduling systems include automated reminders. Before you buy a separate tool, check what yours already does. A setup checklist:
- •Send from your own domain: ask the system how to send reminders from an address at your practice domain, and publish the SPF and DKIM records it gives you. Google's sender guidelines ask every sender to authenticate with SPF or DKIM, and higher-volume senders to add DMARC.
- •Two-way confirmation: confirmations should write back to the schedule automatically so the front desk sees who is still unconfirmed.
- •Rules by appointment type: decide which visits get which reminders, and skip reminders for appointments booked the same day.
- •Preferences honored: the system should respect each patient's channel choice and any request to stop texts.
- •Test first: book test appointments for team members, check every message on a phone, and click every link.
Keep reminders separate from marketing email. Promotions need their own list with an easy unsubscribe; see segmenting your email list for that side.
Useful personal touches
Personal details should make the visit easier, not just friendlier:
- •First name and the practice name, so the email is clearly for this patient from a practice they know.
- •New patients: parking, where to enter, how long the first visit takes and a link to forms they can complete at home.
- •Family bookings: one email listing each family member's time, rather than several separate messages.
- •Language: send in the patient's preferred language if your system supports it.
Measure the effect
Judge reminders on your own numbers, measured the same way each month:
- •No-show rate before and after each change, by appointment type.
- •Confirmation rate: the share of appointments confirmed before the day, by channel.
- •Advance cancellations: a rise is often good news, because a slot cancelled with notice can be refilled.
- •Reschedule link use: tag the link with UTM parameters so Google Analytics shows how many patients rebook online.
- •Bounces and spam complaints: rising numbers point to outdated addresses or a sending setup problem.
If confirmation stays low for one group, try a different channel or time for that group before adding more messages. Reminders sit within your wider email marketing, and they work best when patients trust that every reminder is short, accurate and only about their visit.
Sources
This guide is marketing and front-office guidance, not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many reminder emails should go out per appointment?
Start with two: a confirmation as soon as the appointment is booked and a reminder a day or two before that asks the patient to confirm. Add a short same-day message only for appointment types that still have no-shows, and change one thing at a time so you can see what helped.
Email or text for appointment reminders?
Use both if patients have agreed to texts. Email has room for directions, forms and a calendar file, so it suits the confirmation. A short text suits the last reminder. A Cochrane review found text reminders improved attendance compared with no reminder, and your own confirmation rates will show which channel your patients answer.
What should a reminder email include?
The practice name, date, time, address with a map link, what to bring, how to confirm, and a one-click way to reschedule, plus a phone number. Leave out clinical details such as the procedure or a diagnosis; a general phrase like your visit is enough.
Why are our reminder emails going to spam?
The most common causes are sending from an address that is not on your own domain, missing SPF or DKIM authentication, and mixing promotions into reminders. Google's sender guidelines ask every sender to authenticate with SPF or DKIM and to keep reported spam low. Ask your scheduling system how to send from your domain.
Should reminders include special offers?
No. Keep reminders purely about the appointment. Promotions belong in separate marketing email that patients can unsubscribe from, and mixing them in makes reminders look like marketing and less likely to be read.