When patients reply “CANCEL” to an appointment reminder, the system unsubscribes them from text messaging, preventing our office from responding by text to help them reschedule. Their intent is to cancel an appointment—not stop communicating with us.
This creates unnecessary confusion for patients and additional work for our staff. We have also seen it lead to more missed or forgotten appointments when patients no longer receive reminders, resulting in lost revenue for our office. In the context of an appointment reminder, “cancel” is a natural, predictable response.
Ideally, STOP should be the clearly communicated opt-out keyword. I understand that the system provides instructions for canceling appointments without unsubscribing. However, patients naturally respond with “cancel,” and the messaging workflow should account for that predictable behavior.
We also need a straightforward way to help patients restore texting after an accidental opt-out, including the exact number and keyword they should use.
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