Scheduling & appointments · 3 min read · Beginner
Rescheduling and cancellations
Amy moves and cancels appointments by phone or text, 24/7 — she finds a new time, updates your PMS, frees the old slot, and offers it to your waitlist, with a built-in safety net so nothing is cancelled by mistake.
Updated Jul 9, 2026
Plans change, and Amy handles it. Whether a patient calls to move a visit or texts back "can't make it" the day before, Amy sorts it out on the spot — she finds a new time, updates your schedule, and opens the old slot back up. She works around the clock, so a Sunday-night cancellation is caught and turned around long before Monday morning.
Tip
You don't have to babysit this. Amy catches reschedule and cancel requests from calls and texts automatically. Your only job is to review anything she hands to your team in What needs to get done.
How a reschedule flows
- A patient asks to move their appointment by phone or text. Amy recognizes the request and pulls up the existing appointment.
- Amy finds a new time that fits the same visit type and provider, inside your working hours, and offers the best open options.
- She moves it in your PMS — the appointment shifts to the new time and the old slot is freed automatically.
- She confirms the new time with a fresh confirmation by text and email, so the patient has the updated details.
How a cancellation flows
- A patient cancels on a call, or by replying to a reminder. Amy confirms which appointment they mean.
- She cancels it in your PMS and frees the slot so it shows as open again.
- She offers the slot to your waitlist. If patients are waiting for that day or time, Amy texts them the opening — often filling it the same day. See Waitlist and fill a gap.
- She logs it on the patient's timeline so you have a clear record of what changed and why.
The safety net: Amy never cancels by mistake
Sometimes a message is fuzzy — a patient texts "I don't think I can come Tuesday" without a clear yes or no. Instead of guessing, Amy sends a simple confirmation: "Reply 1 to keep your appointment, 2 to cancel."
- If they say cancel, Amy cancels it and frees the slot.
- If they say keep, the appointment stays exactly as it was.
- If they don't reply at all, Amy defaults to keeping the appointment on the books. She never drops a visit on silence.
Note
Amy reports and executes what patients ask for. She doesn't enforce a cancellation fee or judge whether a late cancel is "allowed" — your cancellation policy is yours to set, and anything that needs a person's decision routes to your team.
Where you see the change
Every reschedule and cancellation shows up in two places: on the patient's timeline as a dated entry, and on your Today view and schedule, which update the moment Amy makes the change. If a request needs a human — an unusual scheduling ask, or a patient who wants to discuss a balance — it lands in What needs to get done.
Frequently asked questions
Does the freed-up slot get filled automatically? It can. When a cancellation opens a slot, Amy checks your waitlist and offers it to matching patients by text. The first to say yes gets it. See Waitlist and fill a gap.
What if a patient no-shows without cancelling? The appointment stays on your schedule, and it's captured on their timeline. Because reminders make it easy to reply, most patients tell Amy in advance instead of simply not showing — turning a silent no-show into a slot you can refill.
Can Amy reschedule to a different provider? Amy keeps the same visit type and provider by default so the new time truly fits. If the patient needs a different provider, that's captured for your team to confirm.
Will the patient still get a reminder for the new time? Yes. A reschedule resets the reminders, so the patient gets a fresh confirmation and reminders for the new appointment. See How reminders and confirmations work.
What happens if my PMS is offline when someone cancels? Amy still takes the request and holds it safely, then syncs the change the moment your connection is back. Walk through that in Reconnecting your PMS.
Still need a hand?
Reach the Valian team any time at help@valiansystems.com, or open a ticket from the Help Center inside your dashboard. During onboarding, your onboarding contact is at onboarding@valiansystems.com.