n8n WhatsApp Appointment Rescue Workflow (2-Hour Check-ins)

Rescue at-risk WhatsApp appointment reminders with 2-hour check-ins

This n8n WhatsApp Appointment Rescue Workflow runs every hour to automatically contact unconfirmed patients with a WhatsApp check-in 90–150 minutes before their appointment—then routes responses to your team based on what they reply.

What this workflow does

• Runs on a schedule (hourly): loads appointment rows from a demo source (replace with your real data source in production).
• Validates every row: if an appointment_id or phone is missing—or if starts_at can’t be parsed—the row is sent to an error log with the exact reason.
• Selects only the right appointments: picks unconfirmed appointments starting 90–150 minutes from now.
• Prevents duplicate check-ins: a static-data guard ensures exactly one WhatsApp check-in per appointment even if the workflow fires twice.
• Sends a WhatsApp YES/NO prompt: sends each customer one check-in asking them to reply YES or NO (placeholder send step in the template).
• Waits for an inbound reply: pauses up to 15 minutes and resumes via a webhook when a reply arrives.
• Classifies responses and routes outcomes: confirmed replies mark the calendar; cancel_requested, unclear, and no_reply are flagged for staff.

Use cases

• Reduce missed appointments by confirming attendance via WhatsApp before the scheduled time.
• Automate staff follow-up when patients don’t respond or reply ambiguously.
• Safeguard data quality by logging invalid appointment rows with clear error reasons.

Technical details

• Schedule Trigger (runs hourly), if, code, wait, and sticky note.
• Data requirements: appointment_id, customer_name, phone, starts_at (ISO), practitioner, treatment, status.
• WhatsApp Business Cloud: add credentials and replace the placeholder send step with a WhatsApp Send Message action to the appointment phone number.