Set Up New Patients from WhatsApp with Cliniko

This recipe handles a first-time patient on WhatsApp. It collects the details your clinic needs, creates the patient record in Cliniko, books the first appointment and sends what to bring. Part of the Cliniko integration.

What happens today

A new patient messages to ask if you can see them for knee pain. The desk replies with prices, asks for their details over several messages, types them into Cliniko, then books the slot. Details get missed, such as the referring doctor or the email for forms, and the first appointment starts late while the patient fills in paperwork at the counter.

The flow that works

AeroChat answers the first questions from your price list and services, such as the cost and length of an initial consultation.
It checks Cliniko so a returning patient is not created twice.
It collects the details you list, one or two at a time, and creates the patient in Cliniko.
It books the first appointment from Cliniko’s available times.
It sends what to bring and wear, and tells the patient that Cliniko will send any forms to their email.

The recipe

Copy this into AeroChat

When someone who has not visited us before asks about an appointment, follow these steps.

Answer their questions about the initial consultation from our price list and services, including the length and price.

Ask for their full name and date of birth, and search Cliniko. If a matching patient exists, treat them as a returning patient and do not create a new record.

Collect, one or two at a time: phone number, email, address, and whether a doctor referred them (example list). Ask why they are coming in, in a sentence.

If they describe red-flag symptoms, such as severe or sudden pain, numbness or a recent accident, do not book. Hand the conversation to a practitioner.

Create the patient in Cliniko with the details collected, and add the reason for the visit and any referral to the patient’s notes field.

Check Cliniko for available times for an initial consultation and offer up to three. When they choose, create the appointment.

Send a confirmation with the date, time, practitioner and address, what to wear or bring, and a note that any forms will arrive by email.

Only collect the details on our list. Never ask for card details in the chat. Never give clinical advice. Reply in the patient’s language.

Change the details list, the red-flag symptoms and the what-to-bring notes to your own before you paste it.

What to connect

Cliniko. Create an API key from My Info, Manage API keys, using a Cliniko user with front desk access. Enter it in the AeroChat dashboard when it asks.
Your services and price list. Upload your appointment types, prices, address and first-visit notes to the AeroChat knowledge base.
Payments, if you take a deposit for first visits. Airwallex is built in. HitPay and Stripe connect with your API key if you already use them. Payment links are included from the Growth plan.

Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.

Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.

What you still decide

Which details you collect before the first visit, and which wait for the clinic.
The red-flag symptoms that always go to a practitioner.
Whether first visits need a deposit.

AeroChat collects only what you list. Clinical history and consent stay with your own Cliniko forms and your practitioners.

The result to expect

New patients arrive with a complete record in Cliniko and a booked time, and the desk stops re-typing details from chats. Measure it with your own numbers: new patients booked from chat, and first appointments that start on time, for a month before and after you start.

Next: appointment booking and rescheduling and cancellation with Cliniko.

Set up your first new patient in chat

Paste the recipe, add your Cliniko API key, and message your own number as a new patient asking for a first visit.

Start your 7-day free trial. No credit card needed.

On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.