This guide helps your front desk manage that opportunity: check the fit, choose the appropriate contact method and confirm whether the appointment was booked. Use the clinic’s approved contact process and the patient’s preferences.
Check which waitlist options you have
Jane’s notification setup guide distinguishes the waitlist, available on all plans, from notifications, available on Thrive, Legacy Base and Legacy Insurance. SMS availability also depends on region. Check your account before planning an automated routine.
For a plan without notifications, use the manual waitlist workflow: inspect a request, contact the patient through an agreed channel, then use Book on the request and select the agreed opening after they accept. A request is a preference for an appointment, not permission to book any available visit.
Jane does not currently send waitlist notifications for classes or group appointments. Those need a separate clinic-managed process, as described in its waitlist FAQ.
Confirm the patient’s request
In Schedule > Wait List, open an existing request or choose + Add. Check the patient, practitioner, treatment, dates and times. Jane initially sets availability to the whole day when staff add a request; narrow it to what the patient actually agreed to, then save. See Jane’s request instructions.
If notifications are available, check the patient’s notification choices in their profile. Patients can also manage them in My Account > Notifications & Reminders. Confirm email, SMS or both with the patient; keep an opted-out channel off. Jane’s patient experience guide explains these choices.
Choose how notifications will be sent
In Settings > Wait Lists, review Enable Wait List Notifications and the option to send notifications automatically. Enabling the feature alone does not send messages. Choose a mode that the front desk can explain and manage:
Manual notifications: inspect the opening and matching requests, then send from the notification panel when appropriate.
Automatic notifications: review recipients before the countdown ends. Jane sends after its administrative buffer unless staff intervene.
Exclusive Access is the period after sending during which the opening is reserved for eligible waitlist patients. It does not reserve the appointment for one named person. Choose it around the time patients have to respond and staff have to handle calls. Jane’s settings guide explains how the hold ends.
With automatic notifications, Jane normally waits 15 minutes for an appointment starting in less than 24 hours, or two hours for one starting in more than 24 hours. These are Jane’s administrative buffers, not a recommended patient response deadline. Inspect the actual countdown; staff can send earlier or cancel pending notifications and release the opening. See automatic notification controls.
Work through one cancelled appointment
Where notifications are enabled and eligible requests exist, Jane can show a dark waitlist block on the schedule. Open it to see matching requests and the time remaining. Jane’s notification workflow provides three ways to handle the opening:
- Send a notification to the eligible patients shown in the panel.
- After a patient accepts, use Book Appointment for that person.
- Release the opening so it can be booked through the usual permitted routes.
Depending on online booking settings, a patient’s notification offers a booking link or asks them to call. If someone else books first, the online link can show that the opening is gone. Follow the actual booking experience; do not promise a booking from an SMS reply.
Invented example: a patient has requested a short appointment on a particular afternoon. An opening appears with their practitioner. The front desk checks that the treatment fits, offers it through the agreed channel, and confirms the booking in Jane after the patient accepts. If the patient declines, the team leaves the request only if they still want another suitable opening.
If an opening has no eligible recipients
Check the request and schedule before changing preferences or sending another message:
- Does the requested treatment fit inside the cancelled appointment? Jane does not include adjacent free time when matching its length.
- Do the patient’s availability, practitioner and notification choices match?
- Do shifts, booking restrictions, treatment tags or required resources prevent the booking?
Jane’s notification troubleshooting guide explains these checks. Keep patients’ actual preferences; changing them merely to trigger a message can offer a visit they cannot use. An empty list is a reason to review the opening, not to contact every patient in the clinic.
Check the result before closing the request
Record the result in the clinic’s approved system:
- Booked: the appointment exists for the agreed patient, treatment, practitioner and time. Check whether the patient still needs the waitlist request.
- Still open or declined: record the next action and who owns it, or release the opening according to clinic policy.
- Not yet checked: leave the result pending. A notification count does not establish a booking.
Close the loop by checking the booking in Jane or recording why the opening remains available. If you later assess the outcome, check attendance and posted payment separately; a booked opening can still be cancelled or go unpaid.
For the wider routine, use the four no-show checks. To align how patients cancel and contact the front desk, review the cancellation-policy template.
Sources
Official Jane guides checked October 4, 2026:
Rob SaricCo-founder & CEO at Caretrics