AI receptionist for medical and dental clinics

In a typical medical or dental clinic, administrative staff spend a disproportionate share of their day on the phone: booking appointments, managing cancellations and rescheduling, answering insurance questions, reminding patients. This administrative burden leaves less time for welcoming patients in person and managing files.

The result: patients who hit a busy signal or voicemail, don't call back, and end up at a competitor. Costly no-shows. And exhausted administrative staff, often understaffed.

Nelvox's Nova AI is designed to absorb the majority of these routine phone calls, freeing your team for higher-value tasks.

Appointment booking is the primary function of Nova AI for clinics. Here's how it works:

• Information collection — Patient name, health card number, preferred practitioner, reason for visit, desired time slots.
• Immediate confirmation — Nova confirms the appointment to the patient via SMS, with date, time, address, and pre-consultation instructions if needed.
• New vs. existing patients — Nova can distinguish between a new patient and a regular patient and adapt the process accordingly.
• Recognized emergencies — If the patient describes a medical emergency, Nova immediately transfers them to your team or instructs them to call 911.

No-shows are one of the biggest profitability challenges for clinics: an empty 60-minute slot can represent $150–$400 in lost revenue depending on the type of consultation.

Nova AI helps reduce no-shows in several ways:

• SMS reminders — Nova automatically sends an SMS reminder 48 hours and 24 hours before the appointment.
• SMS confirmation — The patient replies YES to confirm or NO to cancel, allowing you to reschedule the slot in time.
• Cancellation management — If a patient cancels, Nova logs it in your dashboard and can invite them to reschedule immediately.

Clinics using automatic reminders typically see a 20–40% reduction in no-shows.

The Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) has generated a wave of calls to dental clinics across Canada — patients wanting to know if the clinic accepts the plan, which procedures are covered, and how to verify their eligibility.

Nova AI can handle these calls in a standardized way:

• Confirm whether your clinic is registered with the CDCP
• Explain the steps for a first appointment with CDCP coverage
• Collect patient information and invite them to book an appointment
• Transfer specific coverage questions to your administrative staff

This standardized handling prevents the same questions from being asked again and again to your staff, freeing up valuable time.

Beyond appointments, Nova AI can answer all common patient questions:

• Hours of operation — Including exceptions (holidays, exceptional closures).
• Services offered — What types of consultations, which specialists are in the clinic.
• Accepted insurance — Which insurance companies are processed, how to submit a claim.
• Appointment preparation — Pre-consultation instructions (fasting, medications to bring, forms to complete).
• Parking and access — Practical information about reaching the clinic.

The protection of personal health information is subject to strict regulations in Canada — the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA in Ontario) and equivalent provincial laws, plus PIPEDA.

Nelvox's Nova AI is configured to respect these requirements:

• Minimal collection — Nova only collects information necessary for appointment booking, not sensitive medical data.
• Secure processing — Data is transmitted securely to your Nelvox dashboard.
• Transparency — Nova presents itself as an automated system, in compliance with transparency obligations.

Your Nelvox consultant can advise you on the optimal configuration for your province and type of medical practice.