Reduction in no-show rate to <1%
Secure messages sent with Ocean per year
Less front-office time spent chasing confirmations by phone.
Kitchener, Ontario
B. DiGravio Medicine Professional Corp. is a solo pediatric practice in Kitchener, Ontario that used Ocean email reminders to reduce no-shows, cut phone reminder work, and make appointment confirmation more reliable.
At B. DiGravio Medicine Professional Corp. in Kitchener, the practice was already putting real effort into appointment reminders, but no-shows remained a recurring problem.
Before Ocean, reminder work fell heavily on the front office. Dr. Bruno DiGravio explained that his secretary spent hours every week making reminder calls and often reached answering machines instead of patients directly. Even with that time investment, the practice still saw many missed appointments.
“Before Ocean, my secretary spent hours every week making appointment reminders by phone. Most often, she had to leave messages on answering machines. Despite this time intensive procedure, we still had many no shows, about 10% of visits or more.”
That created two problems at once. Staff time was being consumed by a repetitive task that did not reliably solve the issue, and missed appointments created more disruption for the schedule and the business side of the practice.
The practice did not need a more complicated workflow. It needed a more dependable one, with better confirmation of upcoming visits and less staff effort to get there. Specifically the goals were:
The workflow change was simple and practical. Instead of relying on manual phone outreach, the clinic introduced Ocean's Secure Messages and Reminders.
An email reminder goes out 2 weeks before the visit.
A second reminder goes out 1 week before the visit, and patients confirm through that message.
A final reminder goes out 1 day before the appointment.
That change mattered because it replaced a one-to-one staff task with a repeatable process. The office no longer had to depend on whether someone answered the phone or listened to a voicemail. Patients received reminders in a format they could act on more easily, and the practice gained a more consistent way to confirm appointments ahead of time.
The value here was not complexity, it was reliability: A repeatable reminder sequence made appointment confirmation less dependent on staff availability and more consistent for patients and families.
The secretary was freed from spending hours each week on manual reminder calls and could shift time to other administrative priorities. The no-show rate dropped dramatically, reducing schedule disruption and improving office efficiency. Fewer missed appointments also meant a marked improvement in the office’s bottom line.
“Starting the Ocean e-mail reminder program was a dramatic change in the office work flow. Firstly, it freed up my secretary's time to do other important administrative tasks. Our no-show rate dropped dramatically, to less than 1 percent. Truly a game-changer.”
The new digital workflows also improved the experience for patients and families. The reminder process became easier to receive, easier to act on, and more reliable overall.
Patients received reminders ahead of time in a format that was easier to notice and act on than a missed phone call or voicemail.
Families had a straightforward opportunity to confirm appointments through the one-week reminder.
According to Dr. DiGravio, many patients commented that they appreciated the reminders.
Ocean turned reminder calls into a dependable automated workflow, freeing staff time and bringing the practice’s no-show rate to less than 1%.
“Before [Ocean], our reminder emails went out 1 day before and did not have the ability to offer details, including locations, what to bring, what to expect, or the abiility to confirm online/complete paperwork ahead of time.”
“Forms were done in person by hand, now a lot of them are completed prior to coming into the office which is a huge time saver.”
“Ocean has streamlined our workflow and made care more efficient, accessible, and patient-centered for both staff and patients.”