Patient recall software vs practice-management reminders

How to use this checklist

Put each question to every tool you are considering, RecallQ included. Ask for the answers in the vendor's own terms, privacy policy or documentation rather than relying on a sales conversation, and keep them so you can compare like with like.

Eight questions to ask of any tool

1. Who gets contacted?

Ask: How does the tool decide who is messaged? Does it check consent and opt-outs before every send? What happens to patients with no mobile number, or only a landline?

RecallQ: Rules are timed against each patient's recall due date. A patient is included only if they are active, have recorded consent for the channel and have not opted out. SMS goes only to Australian mobile numbers, landlines are never texted, and a patient set to one channel is assessed on that channel only. Patients whose date has already passed are reached by a catch-up sweep, which RecallQ sets up for a practice on request.

2. How are replies handled?

Ask: Can patients reply? Who reads the replies, and what can automation do with them before a person checks?

RecallQ: Replies arrive in RecallQ. A YES to a recall creates a pending booking, and on the Pro plan AI reads other replies (a shortened copy of the reply goes to AI providers in the United States; see Security and data handling). AI never cancels a booking or opts a patient out. Replies RecallQ cannot place, and any that suggest an emergency, are flagged to staff on the Today page. This is a keyword check that can miss an emergency, so your team should still read replies.

3. How are opt-outs handled?

Ask: How does a patient stop messages? Is it immediate and recorded? Can staff record an opt-out given by phone? Does it reach your other systems?

RecallQ: A whole-message STOP stops SMS straight away, and every recall email has an unsubscribe link, plus one-click unsubscribe in mail apps that support it. Emailed unsubscribe requests are read and actioned by a person within 5 business days, as the Privacy Policy states. Staff can record opt-outs given by phone or in person. RecallQ does not pass opt-outs to your practice software, so record the opt-out there as well.

4. How are consent and identification handled?

Ask: How is the practice's confirmation of consent to contact patients recorded? Does every message name the practice? Can the required wording be removed?

RecallQ: At import the practice ticks a confirmation that it holds, or is otherwise entitled to rely on, each listed patient's consent to be contacted by SMS and email, and that patients have been told, or have agreed, that RecallQ's providers, some outside Australia, handle their details. RecallQ records that the tick was given. Every SMS names the practice and includes "Reply STOP to opt out". Every recall email includes the practice's name, ABN and physical address, plus an unsubscribe link, with one-click unsubscribe in mail apps that support it. These are added automatically, and the Terms say they must not be removed. The practice remains responsible for its lawful basis.

5. What are the send windows?

Ask: Which hours can messages go out, in whose time zone, and what happens to a message scheduled outside them?

RecallQ: Recall SMS are sent only between 9am and 8pm in the practice's configured time zone. Rules can be scheduled between 9am and 7pm, and anything scheduled outside the window is held until it opens.

6. What is reported?

Ask: What counts as a result? Are money figures measured or estimated? Can you see how a figure was reached?

RecallQ: The ROI report shows recalls sent, replies, patients who said yes, bookings your team confirmed and patients who came in. A recovered patient is a booking your team confirmed that came from a recall; bookings inferred from a reply are shown but not counted. Revenue is an estimate based on an average visit value (it starts at $420 until you set your own).

7. How does data get in?

Ask: Is it a live connection or a file? What happens to extra columns and rows that could match more than one patient? Who confirms the list is right?

RecallQ: You upload a CSV export. There is no live connection to practice-management systems. Each patient needs a first and last name and a phone number or email address, and the file needs a recall due date or last-visit date. Extra columns are ignored. Rows that could match more than one existing patient are held for you to decide. Bookings are made in your own software and recorded in RecallQ by your team.

8. Where is data handled?

Ask: Where is patient data stored, which providers handle it, and which of them are overseas?

RecallQ: The main patient database is in Sydney, Australia. Application servers run in Singapore and handle patient information in transit only. Some sub-processors operate overseas and are listed at https://www.recallq.com.au/legal/#sub-processors.

Reading the answers

A clear answer says what happens automatically, what needs a person, and where it is written down. Treat a vague answer as a reason to ask again, and compare the written terms as well as the demonstration.

Sources: RecallQ Terms of Service (clauses 3.1, 3.4, 3.7, 9.4, 9.5 and 14), Privacy Policy (sections 5 and 7) and the sub-processors list on the legal hub.