Automated WhatsApp messages to patients are allowed, within rules. This is general information, not legal advice. If you are unsure about a specific message, ask a lawyer.
WhatsApp's rules
- Permission first. WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy lets a business message a person only if that person gave their number and agreed to receive messages.
- Approved templates. A business can reply freely only within 24 hours of the patient's last message to it. Anything else, such as a reminder, must use a template approved by Meta. Templates fall into three types: utility (such as reminders), marketing and authentication.
- Respect opt-outs. The policy says a business must respect every request to stop.
- Blocks count against you. Patients can block or report a business, and WhatsApp may then limit how many messages that business can send.
- No unofficial tools. Tools that automate WhatsApp Web break WhatsApp's terms and put the number at risk of a ban.
India's DPDP Act 2023
- A patient's phone number is personal data.
- Consent must be free, specific and informed, and given by a clear action, such as ticking a box or signing.
- Use the number only for the purpose the patient agreed to, such as reminders about their care.
- Patients can withdraw consent, and withdrawing should be as easy as giving it.
- Keep a record of who agreed, when, and to what.
- Do not share numbers with others without consent.
What is safest
- Lower risk: appointment reminders, follow-up reminders and messages about the patient's own care.
- Needs clearer consent: promotions, festival offers, new service announcements and newsletters.
An example: consent at registration
- At registration, the patient reads one plain line, such as "I agree to receive appointment and follow-up reminders from this clinic on WhatsApp", and agrees to it.
- The clinic saves the date and the exact wording the patient agreed to.
- The day before the patient's next visit, a reminder goes out. That is care the patient asked for, so it is the lower-risk case.
- Months later, the clinic wants to announce a health camp. That is closer to promotion, so it goes only to patients who agreed to hear clinic news, not to everyone on the list.
- One patient replies STOP. From then on, that patient gets no automatic messages.
What gets clinics in trouble
- Messaging a bought or borrowed list of numbers.
- Sending promotions without consent.
- Ignoring patients who ask to stop.
With Vaidya OS
On a paid plan, reminders go out from the one shared Vaidya OS WhatsApp number, using utility templates approved by Meta. The 14-day free trial sends no automatic WhatsApp messages. The Vaidya OS QR consent form saves each patient's consent with the exact wording they saw. If a patient replies STOP, Vaidya OS stops sending them automatic messages.
Read whether you need your own WhatsApp Business API or how follow-up reminders work.