No.
BP-AT-007
Scale
1 : 1
Date
2026-05-25
Rev.
A
Werkstatt 4notify · AppointmentsReleased
Blueprint BP-AT-007 of BP-AT-008 · Appointments
SMSEmail

Doctor appointment management with cancellation window and ÖGK context

DocFinder, Doctolib AT and practice-CRM with two reminder pulses and rebooking

§ AThe problem

Many practices send only one reminder the evening before by email — which the patient misses if they don't check their inbox. Others send multiple SMS with no cancellation option; the patient can't cancel themselves, calls on the day and ties up the practice phone line. The optimal pattern is a two-pulse system with reply capability (YES / CANCEL) that automatically returns a cancelled slot to the Doctolib API — making a sub-two-hour rebooking realistic.

§ BMain view

Appointment booking platforms like DocFinder (Austrian market leader since 2009) and Doctolib AT (live in Vienna since 2021) have reshaped practice life: patients book online, practices see the calendar in real time, and no-shows cost money. An average GP practice loses ~12 appointments per month to no-shows (WKO 2024 estimate); at a public-insurance honorarium of ~EUR 25 per appointment that's ~EUR 300/month of unused capacity — and depending on the insurance contract (ÖGK, SVS, BVAEB) also a gap in the obligation to provide care. Two-pulse reminders (24 h + 2 h) empirically cut no-show rates by 60-70%.

§ CParts list
ChannelPrimary providerFallback
DocFinder-Webhookdocfinder.at/api/v2/webhookREST polling (1 min)
Doctolib AT APIdoctolib.at API + webhookTagespoll-Sync
Praxen-CRM (Bock, Innomed)Vendor-spezifische REST-AdapterCSV-Upload
Erinnerungs-SMSBP-AT-002 SMS-RoutingE-Mail mit Kalender-Link
Stornierungs-MO-WebhookInbound SMS keywordSprachmenü Telefon
§ DTolerances
First reminder
24hours before appointment
Second reminder
2hours before appointment
Cancellation window
≥ 4hours before appointment
Slot rebooking
≤ 2hours after cancellation
No-show reduction
60 – 70% (empirical)
§ ENormative references
ÄrzteG § 54 — Schweigepflicht

Appointment reminders are also covered by medical confidentiality. The SMS text must not reveal the reason for the appointment — only date, time and practice.

ASVG § 80 (Wahlarztpflichten)

Private-practice doctors have documentation duties around appointments and fees. Reminder sends and cancellations must be documented in a way that permits later fee reconciliation.

KaKuG (Krankenanstalten- und Kuranstaltengesetz)

Hospital outpatient clinics face stricter documentation duties. Reminders for outpatient appointments must be linkable to the patient record.

§ FBuild steps

Receive appointment event from booking platform

Webhook from DocFinder or Doctolib with patient (hashed ID), date/time, practice, service code. 4notify queues a reminder job with two trigger times: T-24h and T-2h.

First reminder 24 h before appointment

Neutral SMS text: ’Reminder of your appointment on 28.05. at 14:30, Dr. Huber's practice, Mariahilfer Str. 88. Reply CANCEL up to 4 h before the appointment.’ Reply CANCEL is received via the MO webhook and triggers an immediate cancellation in the booking platform.

Second reminder 2 h before appointment

Short version: ’In 2 h: appointment at Dr. Huber, Mariahilfer Str. 88.’ This reminder no longer carries a cancellation option — the window has closed and the slot would no longer be filled.

Cancellation window + automatic rebooking

If the patient cancels within the window, the freed slot is returned via the Doctolib/DocFinder API. The booking platform surfaces it under ’Recently available'; in parallel the next person on the waiting list — if any — is notified by SMS: ’Slot available: 28.05. 14:30 at Dr. Huber. Book at docfinder.at/...’.

§ GTest procedure

Test procedure: (1) Create a test appointment in the DocFinder sandbox 30 h in the future — the reminder job with two triggers must be visible in 4notify. (2) Wait for T-24h or force the trigger — first SMS must arrive, neutral content, with CANCEL keyword. (3) Reply CANCEL — cancellation webhook to the booking platform within 60 seconds, MO in the audit log. (4) Appointment in the sandbox visible as ’cancelled’. (5) Test waiting-list entry must receive a ’Slot available’ SMS. (6) Second test without cancellation — T-2h reminder must arrive, patient is informed cancellation is no longer possible.

§ HCode
bash
curl -X POST https://api.4notify.net/v1/appointment/schedule \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY' \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "patient_hashed_id': 'blake2b:a1b2c3d4…",
    "patient_phone': '+436641234567",
    "appointment_at': '2026-05-28T14:30:00+02:00",
    "practice_name': 'Praxis Dr. Huber",
    "practice_address': 'Mariahilfer Str. 88, 1070 Wien",
    "reminders": [
      { "offset_hours_before": 24, "allow_cancel": true },
      { "offset_hours_before": 2,  "allow_cancel": false }
    ],
    "cancellation_window_hours": 4,
    "booking_platform': 'docfinder",
    "booking_id': 'df_12345"
  }'
§ ISample message
SMS

Dr. Huber's practice: reminder of your appointment on 28.05. at 14:30, Mariahilfer Str. 88, 1070 Vienna. Reply CANCEL accepted up to 4 h before.

§ JCommissioning checklist
  • Two-pulse reminder strategy configured (T-24h + T-2h)
  • CANCEL keyword (incl. ’cancel’, ’absagen’, ’storno’) active for the MO webhook
  • Booking platform API integrated for automatic cancellation return
  • Waiting-list notification on freed slots enabled
  • Reminder text neutral — no treatment reason, no patient last name
  • Audit log documents: sent, confirmed, cancelled, no-show
What 4notify does differently

Instead of a single reminder SMS, 4notify runs a two-pulse system with a cancel keyword — on cancellation the slot is returned to the booking platform within seconds and signalled to the waiting list.

§ KFAQ
Can I force patients to confirm?

No — and it's clinically counterproductive. Reminders demanding confirmation lead to frustration and anti-compliance. The cancel-without-confirm option is more effective: 92% of patients turn up with no reply, 7% cancel and 1% no-show.

What about repeat no-show patients?

4notify maintains an optional risk-score view — patient_ids with ≥ 3 no-shows in 12 months get a yellow flag in the practice CRM. The practice decides whether to book this patient only in fixed block hours going forward (a private-practice pattern).

How does this work with hospital outpatient clinics?

Hospital outpatient clinics often run their own HIS (hospital information systems) — Cerner, Infomed, Smart-Health. 4notify offers FHIR R4 connectors for HL7-capable HIS. The reminder logic stays identical; only the adapter differs.

Open a free account

14 days, no card. German-language support.

§ LOther blueprints