Every clinic has that morning. The doctor is held up, or out for the day, and the schedule is full of patients who are already on their way. The doctor missing is not the hard part. The next two hours at the front desk are.

This checklist keeps those two hours calm.

Start with a list, not the phone

Write down every booked patient the doctor will not see: name, original time, phone number, and whether they have already arrived. If you start calling in the order patients come to mind, someone gets missed.

Decide what you can offer before you call anyone

Patients accept a change much more easily when you offer real options. Find out three things first:

  • Can the doctor see a few extra patients later today? Ask the doctor, do not assume.
  • Which times are free in the next two days?
  • Is there another doctor the patient could see instead?

"We'll call you back" is not an option. A time is.

Tell patients early, and give them choices

Send a short message as soon as you know. Say who, say that the doctor is unavailable, and offer two or three specific times to pick from. You do not need to explain why.

Hello Meera, Dr. Kane is unavailable today, so your 12:00 appointment can't go ahead. Please pick a new time: Thursday 10:15 am, Thursday 11:00 am, or Friday 10:00 am.

Replying with a choice takes a patient ten seconds. A phone call takes both of you much longer.

Check the time again before you confirm

Two patients can pick the same slot. Before confirming a new time, check that it is still free. If it was taken, tell the patient straight away and offer another, rather than letting them arrive to a double booking.

Keep one short list of people who need a call

Some patients will not reply. Some cannot make any of the times offered. Some prefer a phone call. Put them on a single list with a name next to each, so one person is clearly responsible for calling them.

Write down what happened

Note who was moved, to when, and who has been told. Tomorrow morning, nobody should have to ask what was decided.

How Archster does this

If you would rather not do this by hand, Archster handles the same steps. You mark the doctor unavailable. It lists the affected patients, offers each one a short list of real open times on WhatsApp, books the new time when they reply after checking it is still free, and puts anyone it could not place on an Action required list for your team. See how the steps work.