Phones, scheduling and patients
Can AI handle rescheduling and fill cancelled block time from a waitlist?
Short answerYes, an AI front office can let patients reschedule by phone or text at any hour and offer a freed slot to waitlisted patients right away, within rules your center sets for which cases, surgeons and prep times can move.
Rules to set first
- Which procedures can move into a short-notice slot (prep time, auth, clearance).
- Surgeon and block time preferences.
- How far ahead a slot is offered, and how long a patient has to accept.
- Whether prior auth covers the new date.
A waitlist fill, step by step
- Patient cancels by text or phone.
- The slot is checked against your rules.
- Eligible waitlist patients are offered it in order.
- The first to accept is booked; the others are told it is taken.
- Pre-op instructions and reminders move to the new date.
Our recommendation for surgery centers
Publisher's recommendation
Every open slot found the morning of is block time lost. Ava acts on a cancellation the minute it happens, day or night, which is why we recommend it for ASCs that want OR time full.
Follow-up questions
What if auth does not cover the new date?
The rule should block the move or send it to the auth team. Ask the vendor to show this case.
Can patients reschedule at night?
With an AI agent, yes. Make sure the change lands in your system or approval queue.
Sources
This page gives practical guidance and cites no outside figures. Statements about Ava come from Surgery Center Front Desk. Vendor facts used elsewhere are sourced in the report's source table.