Until last quarter, HeDesk relied on MSG91 for SMS reminders. They were reliable — but at ₹0.20 per message, a 1,000-patient clinic could easily burn ₹6,000 a month just on reminders. Worse, delivery rates on transactional SMS in India hover at 60–70% on average.
The WhatsApp move
We switched every reminder button in HeDesk to a one-tap wa.me link that opens WhatsApp Web (or the app on mobile) with the message and recipient prefilled. The staff member taps Send. Free, instant, with 99%+ read rate.
The numbers
- Average no-show rate dropped from 18% → 11% in 30 days across 12 pilot clinics.
- One pediatric clinic saw a 47% drop — kids’ parents read WhatsApp instantly.
- Cost savings: ₹5,000–₹15,000 / month per clinic.
We’re also building WhatsApp Business API integration for clinics on the Enterprise plan so the reminders become fully automated. Until then, the manual one-tap flow already covers 99% of the value.