Empty slots filled, patients finish their plans
Phase 2 for the same 10-person physio clinic. The second brain knew how the clinic works. Now AI workflows keep the diary full, bring patients back and get letters out the same day.
01 At a glance
The short version
Phase 1 gave the clinic a second brain. Phase 2 puts it to work on the diary, the place where a physio clinic makes or loses money.
A second brain, three months in
Questions to the owner down from 30 to 12 a week. GP letters drafted the same day. New physios busy in five weeks.
Empty slots and unfinished plans
Late cancellations left gaps nobody filled. About one patient in four stopped coming before their plan was done.
Four AI workflows
Bookings and the waitlist, recalls, referrer letters, and the Monday numbers. Each one with a clear person who signs off.
14 extra consults a week
Plus 61 team hours back a month. Delivered around $8,240 a month by month 6, on top of the $4,190 from phase 1.
The shift
Phase 1: the AI answers questions. Phase 2: the AI does the work between the questions. It offers the empty slot, nudges the patient who stopped booking, and drafts the letter. A person still signs off.
02 The new pain
The know-how was sorted.
The diary wasn't.
Once the questions stopped, the next problem was easy to see. The clinic was busy, but the diary still leaked.
About 12 late cancellations a week
Reception rang around when they had a spare minute. Most weeks only three or four slots were filled again.
One patient in four dropped off
They felt a bit better, skipped a booking and never came back. Nobody had time to follow up, and the treatment plan stopped halfway.
Rebooking at the desk was hit and miss
On a busy afternoon, patients walked out without their next visit booked. Those were the ones most likely to drop off.
Reports to insurers and surgeons ran late
Workers comp progress reports and surgeon updates were typed at night. Late reports held up approvals for more sessions.
The owner flew blind on the numbers
How full was each diary? How many cancellations? What did funders owe? Answers took a Sunday in spreadsheets.
03 What we built
The second brain,
now with hands
AI operations (AI that does routine work, not just answers). Four workflows read the clinic's rules from the second brain and work through the practice software, inbox and phone line. Patient details stay in the practice software, where they always were.
Three things changed
A cancellation, a missed rebooking, a finished consult. Each one starts a workflow without anyone remembering to.
Reminders and offers go out from templates the practice manager signed off once. Anything new waits for a person.
Every Monday the owner sees what the workflows did, and what they couldn't.
Human review stayed in
Clinicians sign every letter and report. Messages only go to patients who agreed to hear from the clinic by text or email, and every one has an easy way to opt out. The AI never gives clinical advice.
04 The four workflows
Four workflows,
one full diary
Each one has a clear trigger and a clear person who signs off. We added one a month and ran each with full approval for two weeks first.
| Workflow | Starts when | What it does | Who approves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bookings and waitlist | A patient cancels or doesn't rebook | Offers the slot to the waitlist by text, first to reply gets it. Nudges patients who left without a next visit | Templates approved once by the practice manager |
| Recalls | No booking for 14 days mid-plan | Sends a friendly check-in with a link to book. A second one at 28 days, then it stops | Same. Replies about pain or symptoms go to the physio |
| Letters and reports | A consult note is saved | Drafts the GP letter, surgeon update or workers comp report in the right format for that referrer | The treating clinician checks and signs every one |
| Monday numbers | Every Monday, 6am | Diary use by physio, cancellations, rebooking rate, plans finished, money owed by funders | Read by the owner, nothing is sent |
Anything clinical or upset
A patient in pain, a complaint, a question about their treatment. These go straight to a person, the same day.
Patients want the slot
Most clinics have people waiting for an earlier time. The workflow just asks them fast, before the slot is gone.
05 One patient, start to finish
A cancelled slot,
a finished plan
Here's one Tuesday cancellation moving through the workflows. Work that used to wait for a quiet moment now happens in minutes.
Late cancellation
A patient cancels their 9am online. The slot opens in the practice software.
Offered to the waitlist
Three waitlist patients who asked for mornings get a text. The first reply, at 7:20am, takes the slot.
Letter drafted
The new patient's physio saves the consult note. A GP letter is drafted in the clinic's format. The physio reads it, signs it and sends it before lunch.
Left without a booking
The desk was busy. That afternoon, the patient gets a text with two times that suit their plan. They book Friday.
Recall, just in case
Another patient on the same plan hasn't booked in two weeks. A check-in goes out. They reply that their knee is sore, so it goes to their physio to call.
In the owner's numbers
Slot refilled, letter sent same day, patient rebooked. All counted on one page.
Before phase 2
The 9am would have sat empty. The letter would have gone out Thursday night. And the patient who left without booking had a good chance of never coming back.
06 The owner's Monday
The numbers, ready
before the first patient
Every Monday at 6am the owner gets one page. It replaces the Sunday afternoon in spreadsheets.
Up from 79%. Two physios under 75%, worth a look.
Most within 20 minutes of the waitlist text.
Four workers comp invoices over 30 days, follow-ups ready to approve.
Who signs off on what
| The AI can do on its own | A person approves first |
|---|---|
| Offer an open slot to the waitlist from an approved template | Any new wording sent to a patient |
| Send a recall check-in, twice at most | Any reply about pain, symptoms or treatment |
| Draft letters and reports from the consult note | Sending them. The clinician signs every one |
| Build the Monday numbers | Funder follow-ups and any refund |
The rule we built everything on
The AI can move work inside the clinic. Anything clinical, anything new said to a patient, and anything about money waits for a person. Patients who opt out never hear from it again.
07 Delivered outcome
Delivered operational impact
at month 6
Each operational improvement is tracked directly from the Monday clinic report.
| Area | Before phase 2 | Delivered by month 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Late cancellations refilled | 3 or 4 of about 12 a week | About 11 of 12 a week |
| Patients who drop off mid-plan | About 1 in 4 | About 1 in 7 |
| Patients leaving without a next visit | Nobody followed up | A text with times, the same day |
| Insurer and surgeon reports | Typed at night, days late | Drafted on save, signed the same day |
| The owner's numbers | A Sunday in spreadsheets | One page, Monday 6am |
The 90-day rollout
Waitlist offers and rebooking nudges went live. Templates signed off. Two weeks with every message checked.
Recall check-ins started. Letters and reports drafted on save. The Monday numbers began.
All four ran on their own within the rules. The team checks a sample each week.
Verified operational impact
These numbers are drawn directly from practice software logs and weekly clinic reporting across the first six months of operation.
08 The numbers
Delivered value
worth $8,240 a month
Measured across two commercial drivers: team hours returned, and revenue retained from completed consults.
Cancellations the waitlist now fills, on top of the 3 or 4 the desk managed.
Patients who would have dropped off, back on their plan.
9 admin, 3 clinician and 2 owner hours by month 6.
Month by month
| Measure | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra consults a week | 5 | 10 | 14 |
| Team hours back a week | 6 | 10 | 14 |
| Value of time back a month | $1,910 | $2,940 | $4,420 |
| Profit from extra consults a month | $1,360 | $2,730 | $3,820 |
| Total a month | $3,270 | $5,670 | $8,240 |
A year at the month 6 rate. With phase 1, that's about $12,430 a month, or $149,000 a year.