RESOURCES
What is patient recall?
Patient recall is the routine of contacting patients who are due, or overdue, for a return visit so they can book it. It can be done by phone, SMS or email. Recall software automates the contacting and collects the replies, while your own team decides who to contact and does the booking.
By the RecallQ team. Updated 30 September 2026.
Recall, appointment reminders and reactivation
These three terms overlap, so this guide uses them in one consistent way.
- Recall is contacting a patient who is due, or overdue, for a return visit and has nothing booked.
- An appointment reminder is a message about a visit that is already booked, such as a reminder the day before.
- Reactivation is a recall aimed at lapsed patients, meaning patients who have been overdue for a long time. The process is the same; the list is older.
RecallQ covers the first two. Recall rules send recall messages. For bookings your team records at least a day ahead, RecallQ can also send a day-before reminder, which you can switch off in settings if your practice software already sends one.
How an automated recall works in RecallQ
Import a CSV
Export your patient list from your practice-management system and upload it. 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. Before the import runs, someone at the practice ticks a confirmation that the practice 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. There is no live link to your practice software.
Set recall rules
A rule picks SMS or email, a timing (a set number of days before or after each patient's recall due date), a time of day and the wording. Ready-made templates are included, and you can preview your template as you write it. You put [Practice Name] in the message and RecallQ swaps in your practice name. On the Pro plan, RecallQ's AI may reword your SMS recall from your template, so the text a patient receives can differ from your wording and from the preview; the practice name is always included. SMS messages get a "Reply STOP to opt out" line automatically, and emails carry your practice details and an unsubscribe link.
Messages go out automatically
Each morning RecallQ works out which patients each active rule applies to. It includes only active patients who have recorded consent for that channel and have not opted out. Texts go only to Australian mobile numbers, so landlines are never texted. Recall SMS are sent between 9am and 8pm in the practice's time zone, while the subscription is active.
Patients reply
A YES to a recall is recognised automatically and creates a pending booking with no time set. On the Pro plan, AI also reads other replies: a shortened copy of the reply text, without the patient's name, phone number or practice identity, is sent to AI providers in the United States. AI never cancels a booking or opts a patient out. Replies RecallQ cannot place are shown to your team; on Pro, if you turn on AI replies and give it an FAQ, the AI may first answer simple factual questions. If a reply suggests a medical emergency, a fixed message tells the patient to call 000 and the reply is listed first on your Today page. That is a keyword check, not clinical triage, and it can miss an emergency, so your team should still read replies.
STOP and opt-outs
A whole-message STOP (or UNSUBSCRIBE and a few similar words) stops SMS straight away. Clear phrases such as "stop texting me" are matched by fixed rules, never by AI. Every recall email has an unsubscribe link, plus one-click unsubscribe in mail apps that support it, and staff can record an opt-out a patient gave by phone or in person.
The Today page
Today is the front-desk worklist. It shows replies that need a person (a reply the keyword check flags as an emergency is listed first), patients who said yes and need a time, and recent bookings waiting for an outcome. Your team books the patient in their own practice software, then records the time in RecallQ.
The ROI report
The report shows recalls sent, replies, patients who said yes, bookings your team confirmed and patients who came in, month by month. Revenue figures are estimates: a count multiplied by an average visit value (it starts at $420 until you enter your own), because RecallQ does not see what a practice actually billed.
What to keep in mind
- You remain responsible for having a lawful basis to contact each patient and for the content of your messages. RecallQ sends on your behalf and identifies your practice on every message.
- RecallQ is not your practice-management or clinical record. Bookings are made in your own software and recorded in RecallQ.
- Email recalls are switched on in settings once your practice's ABN, physical address and sender name are entered, because they appear in the email.
Frequently asked questions
How is patient recall different from an appointment reminder?
A recall goes to a patient who is due or overdue and has nothing booked. An appointment reminder is about a visit that is already booked. RecallQ can send both. The day-before reminder covers bookings your team records at least a day ahead and can be switched off in settings.
Who does RecallQ contact?
Active patients with recorded consent for the channel and no opt-out. SMS goes only to Australian mobile numbers, and email is sent where email sending is switched on for the practice.
Does RecallQ book the appointment?
No. Your team books the patient in your own practice software and records the time in RecallQ. RecallQ does not connect to practice-management systems.
What happens when a patient replies STOP?
SMS to that patient stops straight away, including messages already scheduled. Each recall email has an unsubscribe link, plus one-click unsubscribe in mail apps that support it, and staff can record an opt-out given by phone or in person. Record it in your practice software too.
How does RecallQ define a recovered patient?
A recovered patient is one whose booking your team confirmed in RecallQ and which came from a recall. The ROI report shows these as Booked by your team. A booking RecallQ only inferred from a reply is shown but not counted.
Sources: RecallQ Terms of Service (clauses 1.1, 1.4, 3.1, 3.4, 3.7, 4.9, 9.4 and 9.5) and Privacy Policy (sections 4, 5 and 7).
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