The short version: before you pay for new patients, contact the ones who've stopped coming. Pull everyone past their usual return date with no future booking, split them into three groups, and give each group a real reason to come back. Not a discount.

Why start with the patients you already have

A new patient has to find you, trust you and book. A lapsed patient has already done all three. They know where you are, they've met the team, and most didn't leave because of anything you did. They got busy, felt a bit better, or simply forgot.

So before you spend on ads, look at the size of your lapsed list. If it's in the hundreds, that's where your next month of bookings is, and it decides how much effort belongs on re-engagement versus finding new patients.

Step 1: Decide what "lapsed" means for your clinic

There's no single number. Use the gap that's normal for the care you give:

Treatment plans (physio, chiro, podiatry): a patient who stopped partway through a plan and has no future booking.
Maintenance visits (massage, check-ups, ongoing care): a patient who's gone past their usual interval, say one and a half times their normal gap.
Treatment cycles (skin and cosmetic clinics): a client who's past the point the treatment usually needs topping up.

Step 2: Pull the list

In most booking systems this is a report of patients whose last appointment was before a date, with no future appointment. Export it with name, mobile, last visit, practitioner and last service.

Then remove anyone who shouldn't hear from you: patients who've asked not to be contacted, finished care with a planned discharge, moved on to another provider, or passed away.

Step 3: Split it into three groups

Unfinished plans. They stopped before the practitioner wanted them to. The reason to return is clinical: the next step in their care.
Regulars who drifted. They used to come on a rhythm and stopped. The reason to return is the rhythm: "it's been a while since your last visit".
One-visit patients. They came once and never rebooked. The reason to return is a question: did it help, and is there anything still bothering them?

Step 4: Give a reason, not a discount

Discounts bring people back once and teach them to wait for the next one. They also cheapen the care your team gives at full price. And if you're a registered health practitioner, an offer in a message counts as advertising: AHPRA's guidelines require clear terms for any gift, discount or inducement.

The best reasons to come back are the true ones:

the next step in their plan
a time that's open this week with the practitioner they saw
a check-in on how they've been since their last visit

Step 5: Send it properly

Name your clinic in every message.
Include an opt-out ("Reply STOP to opt out") in every message, and honour it straight away. Re-engagement messages count as commercial messages under the Spam Act, and broken opt-outs are what get businesses fined.
Check consent. Patients who gave you their mobile for appointments may not have agreed to other messages. Add a tick box for messages to your intake form so this is settled from now on.
Send from a number they recognise and that a person can reply to.

Step 6: Follow up once, then stop

One message, one follow-up about a week later if there's no reply, then leave it. Two messages is helpful; five is spam. Reply to every response the same day, because a "yes" goes cold quickly.

Step 7: Count what came back

Track how many patients on the list booked, and how many visits they've had since. That's your return on the effort, and the number to compare against what you'd spend on ads for the same bookings.

Templates

Unfinished plan

Hi {first name}, it's {clinic}. {Practitioner} wanted to check in on how you're going since your last visit. You were partway through your plan, so if things haven't fully settled, we can find you a time this week. Reply STOP to opt out.

Regular who drifted

Hi {first name}, it's been a while since we've seen you at {clinic}. {Practitioner} has times on {day} and {day} if you'd like to get back into a rhythm. Reply STOP to opt out.

One-visit patient

Hi {first name}, it's {clinic}. Just checking in after your visit with {practitioner}. How have you been? If anything's still bothering you, reply and we'll find you a time. Reply STOP to opt out.

Follow-up (one week later, no reply)

Hi {first name}, just following up on our last message. Happy to help whenever suits. Reply STOP to opt out.

Cosmetic clinics: never name a prescription-only product or its price in these messages. Offer a "review" or "consultation" instead.

Where Robyn fits

This is the job Robyn does every day. She works your rebooking report, texts lapsed patients in your clinic's voice and handles the replies, with every message checked against AHPRA guidance. See how Robyn works.

How to win back lapsed patients without discounting.