Melbourne Multi-Site Clinic — Healthcare IT
A multi-site clinic group reduced appointment no-shows by 40% with a custom patient portal and SMS reminders.
TL;DR
- Challenge:
- A 4-location clinic group with 18% no-show rate costing $12K/month and reception staff phone-bound.
- Approach:
- Custom patient portal + 3-stage SMS reminders + Cliniko API bi-directional sync across all locations.
- Result:
- No-show rate 18% → 10.8%, $4,800/month revenue recovered, reception calls down 57%.
Key Results at a Glance
-40%
No-show rate
New
Monthly revenue recovered
-57%
Reception call volume
Client Context
Business Type
Multi-site allied health clinic group
Founded
2014
Team Size
42 practitioners + 8 reception
Market
Melbourne metro (4 clinics)
Revenue Tier
$8.2M annual revenue
Stack Before
Cliniko (single-clinic view), separate phone lines, manual reminders
The Challenge
The clinic group had 4 locations using different booking systems. No-show rates were 18%, costing $12K/month in lost revenue. Reception staff spent hours daily on reminder phone calls.
Goals & KPIs
North-Star Metric
Cut no-show rate to under 12% and reduce reception phone volume by 50%
Supporting KPIs
No-show rate
Target: Under 12%
Reception calls/day
Target: Under 150
SMS reminder confirmations
Target: 80%+
Portal usage
Target: 60% of patients
Cliniko API sync errors
Target: Zero
Discovery & Research
Audit Findings
- •18% no-show rate ($12K/month lost)
- •Reception spent 6 hrs/day on reminder calls
- •Cliniko was single-location — no group view
- •Zero patient self-service
- •Phone always engaged during peak
Baseline Issues
- •18% no-show rate
- •320 reception calls/day
- •No patient self-service
- •Cliniko records fragmented across locations
Competitor Insight
Best AU multi-site clinics ran patient portals + SMS reminders with confirm/cancel and Cliniko API sync in real time.
Audience Insight
Allied health patients want to reschedule from their phone at 9 PM, not call reception during work hours.
Strategy
Core Hypothesis
“If we build a portal + 3-stage SMS reminders + Cliniko API sync, no-shows halve because patients can self-manage at their own time.”
Positioning Shift
Repositioned as "one clinic group, one portal, book anywhere".
Channel Mix
Patient portal (React) · 50%
Self-service backbone
SMS reminder system · 25%
No-show reduction
Cliniko API integration · 20%
Data unification
Reception dashboard · 5%
Ops visibility
Our Approach
Custom patient portal
Built a patient-facing portal where patients can view upcoming appointments, reschedule online, and complete intake forms before arrival — across all 4 locations.
Automated SMS reminders
Implemented a 3-stage SMS reminder system: 48-hour, 24-hour, and 2-hour reminders with one-tap confirm/cancel — integrated with Cliniko for real-time availability updates.
Cliniko API integration
Connected the portal to Cliniko's API for bi-directional sync — bookings, cancellations, and patient records update in real time across all locations.
Phased Roadmap
Month 1
Discovery + Design
- →Patient journey mapping
- →Cliniko API scoping
- →Portal wireframes
- →Compliance review (patient data)
Months 2–3
Build
- →Portal (React + Node.js)
- →Cliniko API bi-directional sync
- →3-stage SMS reminder system
- →Reception dashboard
Month 4
Launch
- →Rolled out clinic-by-clinic (weekly)
- →Patient training via email + SMS
- →Portal adoption: 62% within 90 days
- →No-shows: 18% → 10.8%
What We Built
The Results
Monthly No-Show Rate (%)
Before vs After — 6 Months
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| No-show rate | 18% | 10.8% | -40% |
| Monthly revenue recovered | $0 | $4,800/month | New |
| Reception call volume | 280/day | 120/day | -57% |
“The SMS reminders alone saved us $60K a year in missed appointments. The patient portal was the cherry on top.”
Dr. Priya N.
Group Practice Manager
Key Insights
- →SMS reminders at 48h + 24h + 2h beat single reminder by 4x
- →"Tap to confirm/cancel" was the friction unlock — 82% response rate
- →Portal adoption crossed 60% within 90 days — patients wanted this
- →Reception now spends time on complex cases — better for patients + retention
What's Next
Adding telehealth integration, launching a mental health specific portal branch, and testing AI triage for common enquiries.
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Services Used
Representative case study. Figures illustrate the type of outcomes achievable through these strategies for Australian businesses; individual results vary based on market, budget and starting position.