iMessage for chiropractors and physiotherapists

Manual therapy has a distinctive drop-out curve. Patients commit to twelve visits, attend four, feel substantially better, and quietly stop — usually right before the point where the improvement would have held. Every no-show is both lost revenue and a worse clinical outcome.

Reminders that respect the constraint

export const remind = {
  // Time, place, clinician. Nothing clinical.
  standard: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.clinic}: appointment with ${c.clinician} tomorrow at ${c.time}. ` +
    `Reply C to confirm or R to reschedule.`,
 
  // Generic prep. Says nothing about why they are attending.
  prep: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.clinic}: tomorrow ${c.time}. Loose clothing is easiest, ` +
    `and try to arrive five minutes early.`,
 
  // Never: "your lower back appointment", "your post-surgical rehab".
};

The message that saves the treatment plan

The drop-out happens for a specific, predictable reason: the patient feels better and concludes they are fixed. A message that addresses that directly — sent around the point where it typically happens — is the single highest-value thing you can send.

export const retention = {
  // Timed to the visit where drop-out usually starts.
  midPlan: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.clinic}: you're ${c.visitsDone} of ${c.visitsPlanned} in. ` +
    `Most people feel a lot better around now — that's the point where ` +
    `stopping tends to undo it. ${c.clinician} would rather see you ` +
    `through the rest. Next one's ${c.nextDate}.`,
 
  lapsed: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.clinic}: we haven't seen you since ${c.lastVisit}. ` +
    `No pressure at all — but if things have crept back, it's much easier ` +
    `to deal with early. Reply and we'll find you a slot.`,
};

Home exercises are where the outcome actually happens

Compliance with home exercise programmes is famously poor, and a printed sheet is lost within a week. A link in a thread is findable months later — and a short check-in mid-week converts far better than anything handed over at reception.

• Send the programme as a link, not an attachment, so you can update it as they progress.
• Check in once between visits. 'How are the exercises going — easier, same, or still sore?' Three words back is enough to adjust.
• Keep it generic in the message body. The link can be personalised behind authentication; the text should not describe the condition.
• Do not diagnose by text. A patient reporting new or worsening symptoms needs to be seen, not reassured remotely.

Consent for clinical messaging is not the same as consent for marketing, and the two must be recorded separately — consent before you text covers the distinction.