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12 Patients Booked. 3 Will Miss Their Appointment — Costing You $1,500+ CAD Per Week

Etisia adds SMS reminders, one-tap cancellations, and review follow-up to the Google Calendar workflow you already use.

10 Calculate Your Lost Revenue

No credit card required. Free SMS included.

Works with Google Calendar Setup takes less than 45 seconds One-tap cancellation built in Free SMS credits included
Google Calendar
TODAY
23
TOMORROW
24
09:00
Lisa Miller (SMS sent ✅)
10:00
Eva Davis (SMS sent ✅)
11:00
12:00
Jane Smith (SMS sent ✅)
13:00
14:00
Anna Taylor (SMS ready ✅)
Click
15:00
16:00
(514) 555-7890 (SMS sent ✅)
14:02
CHC
City Health ClinicToday, 14:02

The Hidden Cost of Missed Appointments in Canadian Medical Practices

Canadian physicians and medical clinics operate under provincial healthcare systems (OHIP in Ontario, MSP in BC, AHS in Alberta) with fixed reimbursement rates and high patient demand. Canadian medical associations report no-show rates of 6-10% across general practice and specialty clinics, with walk-in centres experiencing 12-15%. Each missed appointment represents lost billable time—even under provincial insurance, busy practices must maximize slot utilization to cover overhead and staffing. A typical 3-doctor family medicine practice seeing 60 patients daily loses 4-6 patients per day to no-shows. At $150-250 CAD per consultation (direct billings or time-based reimbursement), that's $600-1,500 CAD daily or $156,000-390,000 CAD annually in wasted capacity.

Canadian Medical Association, PIPEDA Guidelines, Provincial Healthcare Benchmarks 2024

No-Show Rate

6-10% family medicine average; 12-15% walk-in centres

Annual Revenue Loss

$156,000-$390,000 CAD annually (3-doctor practice)

PIPEDA and CASL compliance makes SMS the ideal communication tool for Canadian practices—transactional messages don't require marketing consent, only implied consent from the patient. Voicemail and phone calls hit only 35-45% of working patients. Email gets buried. SMS with opt-in at registration achieves 65-75% confirmation rate and eliminates wasted clinical time. For provincial healthcare systems operating on tight margins, recovering even 50% of no-shows ($78K-195K CAD annually) transforms practice profitability and improves patient outcomes by reducing diagnostic delays.

How much is an empty chair costing you?

Your average appointment

~3 no-shows per week

That's

C$0

walking out your door every year.

Per month

C$0

Per week

C$0

Wasted hours/year

0 hrs

Etisia brings them back.

SMS reminders recover up to 90% of no-shows.

Annual savings

C$0

Appointments recovered

0

Hours saved

0 hrs

Start free trial

No credit card required · 3-day free trial · Free SMS included

Why SMS Outperforms Email and Phone for Medical Appointments

SMS compliance under CASL is simple: appointment reminders are transactional, not commercial, so explicit opt-in consent at registration satisfies all requirements. Canadian practices can send SMS without repeated consent. The CASL exemption for transactional messages is designed exactly for healthcare appointments.

Bilingual SMS support (English/French) ensures compliance in Quebec and serves diverse Canadian populations. Etisia supports bilingual templates, automatically sending reminders in each patient's preferred language. This is particularly important in Quebec where French is the primary language for healthcare communication.

SMS integrates seamlessly with provincial EHR systems and provincial billing, enabling real-time confirmation and slot recovery. When a patient cancels via SMS, your team fills the slot immediately, maintaining high utilization rates critical for practice sustainability under provincial reimbursement.

How Etisia Fills Your Consultation Schedule in Less Than 45 Seconds

Patient Books—Etisia Syncs from Google Calendar

Whether booked online, by phone, or through your EHR, appointments in Google Calendar automatically trigger Etisia's webhook. Connect Google Calendar once in less than 45 seconds, and you're done.

Real-Time Reminder Sequence (48h, 24h, Morning-Of)

Etisia sends professional, secure SMS reminders at your chosen times. Patients confirm, reschedule, or don't reply. Your team sees responses instantly in the Etisia dashboard.

One-Tap Cancellation Triggers Instant Alerts

Patient clicks the cancellation link in their SMS → event deleted from Google Calendar → you get email alert within seconds → fill slot from waitlist before the doctor's day starts.

Post-Appointment Follow-Up & Compliance

Send prescription confirmations, test result notifications, or referral follow-ups via SMS. Green checkmark in calendar shows reminder status sent. Improves patient compliance and reduces missed follow-up appointments.

One change. Completely different results.

See what happens when SMS reminders handle the follow-up for you.

Without SMS reminders
  • No SMS system
  • 12% no-shows
  • Empty consultation slots
  • Clinicians underutilized
  • $350K+ annual loss + worsened patient care
With Etisia
  • SMS reminders
  • 5-6% no-shows
  • Slots filled from waitlist
  • 96%+ clinician utilization
  • $175K+ recovered annually

Proven SMS Templates That Fill Empty Chairs

These are real templates used by businesses on Etisia. Hover to preview and click to copy.

Appointment Reminder

48 hours before

Hi Angela, appointment reminder: Your consultation with Dr. Chen is Fri 14:30 at City Health Clinic. Reply CONFIRM to confirm or call (416) 555-0234 to reschedule.
Day-Before Nudge

24 hours before

Tomorrow 14:30—your appointment with Dr. Chen at City Health. Bring your OHIP card. Reply CONFIRM to confirm.
Morning-Of Check-in

3 hours before

Good morning Angela. Your medical appointment is at 14:30 today. Arrive 10 mins early. We're looking forward to seeing you.
Post-Visit Follow-Up

4 hours after appointment

Hi Angela, thanks for your visit with Dr. Chen. Your prescription has been sent to Shoppers Drug Mart. Call if you have questions.

Your reviews on autopilot

After every appointment, Etisia automatically asks happy clients to leave a Google review. See what happens when you turn it on.

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Google review growth after enabling EtisiaThe comparison shows steep review growth with Etisia and a flatter trend without automated review requests.Etisia activatedMonth 1Month 3Month 5Month 7Month 9Month 11HighLow
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Discover How Your Business Can Cut No-Shows by Over 30%, Too.

Branka Pihler owns Fit Center, a beauty salon and spa in the town in central Slovenia. She knows well how clients who ghost appointments hurt a business, and she contacted us to do something about it. By setting up Etisia, Branka was able to reduce her missed appointments by 34% in just first month. During the following semester, Branka managed to book an extra 8 appointments per month, for an extra income of $3000 per year!

"I am very grateful for the web app, as we have greatly reduced missed appointments and clients are also less late for appointments, which means more money, time and less nerves spent every month. The app is super easy and worth every penny! Thank you a hundred times!"

Branka Pihler
Branka PihlerVerified purchase
Fit center
2 years ago

Simple plans for a Google Calendar-first workflow

Keep Google Calendar as the source of truth. Etisia adds reminders, review requests, and one-tap cancellations without a new booking system or workflow builder.

Starter

$39/month

(tax excl)

For solo operators who want reminder coverage fast, without rebuilding the way appointments already get booked.

  • 100 SMS messages per month
  • 1 Google Calendar
  • Automatic + instant SMS on new bookings
  • Flexible timing — from instant to 1 month ahead
  • One-tap cancel links + instant alerts
  • 25+ templates with custom fields
  • Import contacts from iOS, Android & vCard
  • Full delivery logs & tracking
Start free trial
No credit card needed. Free SMS included.

Pro

Recommended

Try free for 3 days — extra SMS on us

$59/month

(tax excl)

For busy businesses that want reminders, review requests, and smart routing included in one Google Calendar-first flow.

  • 250 SMS messages per month
  • 3 Google Calendars
  • Automatic + instant SMS on new bookings
  • Flexible timing — from instant to 1 month ahead
  • One-tap cancel links + instant alerts
  • 25+ templates with custom fields
  • Import contacts from iOS, Android & vCard
  • Full delivery logs & tracking
  • Review follow-ups where enabled
  • Smart review routing where enabled
  • Private feedback capture where enabled
Start free trial
No credit card needed. Free SMS included.

Team

$229/month

(tax excl)

For multi-calendar teams that want shared coverage, staff access, and no workflow-builder overhead.

  • 1,000 SMS messages per month
  • 5 Google Calendars
  • Automatic + instant SMS on new bookings
  • Flexible timing — from instant to 1 month ahead
  • One-tap cancel links + instant alerts
  • 25+ templates with custom fields
  • Import contacts from iOS, Android & vCard
  • Full delivery logs & tracking
  • Review follow-ups where enabled
  • Smart review routing where enabled
  • Private feedback capture where enabled
  • Staff logins & permissions
  • Shared SMS quota across the team
  • Team dashboards & performance reports
  • Priority support — we've got your back
Start free trial
No credit card needed. Free SMS included.
Etisia guarantee badge

Zero risk. Full confidence.

Start free — SMS credits included, no credit card needed.
You can request a commercial refund within 14 days if the service materially fails to function as described.
Cancel anytime. No contracts, no lock-in.

Frequently asked questions

Have a different question and can't find the answer you're looking for? Reach out to our support team by sending us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Is SMS CASL-compliant?
Yes. Appointment reminders are transactional messages exempt from CASL. Obtain opt-in consent at patient registration. Include "Reply STOP to opt out" in every message. Document consent in your patient record.
Do you support bilingual SMS (English/French)?
Yes! Etisia supports bilingual templates. Set patient language preference in your EHR, and reminders automatically send in English or French. This is essential for Quebec clinics and serves diverse Canadian communities.
Does Etisia work with my provincial EHR (OHIP, MSP, AHS)?
Etisia integrates with most provincial systems via Google Calendar or direct HL7. We can sync directly with your practice management software. Setup takes 1-2 hours.
Is SMS PIPEDA-compliant?
Yes. Etisia is fully PIPEDA-compliant. All patient data is encrypted. You control data access and can delete patient information on request.
Can I customize messages for different provinces?
Yes. Create templates by province (Ontario, BC, Alberta, etc.) referencing local healthcare systems (OHIP, MSP, etc.). Each region can have its own SMS tone and compliance messaging.
Do I need to replace my booking system or force clients to use a booking link?
No. Etisia works with the way clients actually book — phone calls, texts, walk-ins, DMs — whatever. You just create the appointment in Google Calendar, and Etisia sends reminders automatically. No new dashboard. Your calendar stays the single source of truth.
How fast can I set it up — and what do I need to do for each appointment?
Setup takes less than 45 seconds. Connect Google Calendar, pick your message templates, and you're live. After that, it's "set & forget": create an event like you always do, and Etisia automatically sends SMS reminders — no extra steps.
What texts do clients receive — and will they get texted at the wrong time?
Clients receive an automated reminder before the appointment, a one-tap cancellation link (so they don't ghost), and optionally a post-appointment review prompt. Etisia won't blast people at 2 AM: reminders respect quiet hours and time zones, and late-night bookings get rescheduled to morning so clients aren't disturbed.
How does Etisia know which phone number to text?
Etisia uses smart contact matching: it reads the event title, finds the matching contact, and pulls the phone number — even if the name isn't written perfectly. You can also manage and import contacts so your list stays clean and consistent.

Free Tools & Resources

No-Show Cost Calculator

Calculate how much missed appointments cost your business

SMS Template Generator

Create professional reminder messages in 3 clicks

Compare Plans & Pricing

See all features side-by-side with full comparison

If you want to

Reduce no-shows with automated SMS reminders

Get more 5-star reviews on autopilot after every appointment

Save hours every week on manual scheduling & follow-ups

Start free trial

No credit card required. Free SMS included.