Automatic vaccination reminders send a parent a WhatsApp message a few days before their child's next dose is due, with the vaccine name, the due date, the hospital's name and a button to book the appointment. Healthixio has India's National Immunisation Schedule — 24 doses from six weeks to sixteen years — built in. Every morning at 10 AM it finds every child under seven whose dose falls due in three days, sends the parent a bilingual reminder, and repeats weekly for up to two weeks if the dose is missed. Nobody at the hospital has to remember anything.
This guide explains how the schedule is applied, what the parent receives, how the booking button works, what it costs, and what a paediatric hospital should expect to change.
Why dropouts happen
Immunisation coverage in India is high for the first doses and falls with every subsequent one. The reasons are mundane: the card is at home, the date has passed, the parent does not know which vaccine is next, the hospital never called. A paediatric department that vaccinates 300 children a month has several thousand future doses on its books and no practical way to chase them by hand. A reminder that arrives on the parent's phone, names the vaccine, and lets them book in one tap removes every one of those reasons at once.
How the schedule is applied
- The child is registered with their date of birth and the guardian's mobile number — the number the reminders go to, falling back to the patient's own number if none is given.
- The schedule is computed from the date of birth using the national schedule: BCG, OPV and hepatitis B at birth; pentavalent, OPV, rotavirus, PCV and IPV at six, ten and fourteen weeks; measles-rubella and JE at nine months; boosters at sixteen to twenty-four months; DPT and TT boosters at five, ten and sixteen years — 24 doses in all.
- Every day at 10 AM the system checks which children under seven have a dose due in exactly three days, or overdue by seven or fourteen days, and sends the reminder.
Doses already recorded as given are skipped, so a child vaccinated elsewhere and updated on the file is not chased.
What the parent receives
A short message in English and Hindi: the child's name, the vaccine or vaccines due — for instance Pentavalent-2 and OPV-2 — the due date, the hospital's name, and a single Book Appointment button. Tapping it opens the booking flow on the same number: the parent picks the paediatrician and receives a token, and the appointment lands on the OPD register with the usual confirmation. Because the tap reopens a free conversation window, the booking itself costs the hospital nothing.
What it costs
The reminder is a WhatsApp utility template — the cheapest business-initiated category, about ₹0.115 plus GST in India. A paediatric department with 400 doses falling due in a month spends around ₹46 on reminders. The booking, the confirmation reply and any follow-up questions are free service messages. See WhatsApp cost for hospitals for the rate card and the October 2026 changes.
What changes for a paediatric hospital
- Fewer dropouts after the first year, where most of the loss happens.
- Predictable vaccine stock, because the due-dose count for next month is known.
- Fewer "which vaccine is next" calls to reception.
- A full immunisation record on the child's file, linkable to their ABHA under ABDM — an eligible DHIS transaction each time. See DHIS for hospitals.
- A reason for the family to return to the same hospital for the next seven years.
Consent and children's data
Under the DPDP Act a child's data requires verifiable parental consent, and the reminders go to the guardian's registered number. Capturing the guardian's consent at registration, and sending only to that number, covers both. The message names the vaccine and the date; it does not carry any other clinical detail. See our DPDP timeline for hospitals.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do vaccination reminders on WhatsApp work?
The hospital software computes each child's schedule from their date of birth, and every morning sends the parent a reminder for any dose due in three days, with the vaccine name, date and a booking button. If the dose is missed, it reminds again at one and two weeks overdue.
Which vaccination schedule does Healthixio use?
India's National Immunisation Schedule — 24 doses from birth to sixteen years, including BCG, OPV, hepatitis B, pentavalent, rotavirus, PCV, IPV, measles-rubella, JE and the DPT and TT boosters. Doses recorded as given are skipped.
Can the parent book from the reminder?
Yes. The reminder carries a Book Appointment button that opens the booking flow on the same WhatsApp number; the parent chooses the doctor and receives a token immediately.
What does a vaccination reminder cost the hospital?
About ₹0.115 plus GST per reminder as a WhatsApp utility template. The booking and any replies are free.
Switch it on for your paediatric OPD
Vaccination reminders are included in every Healthixio plan. Register the child with the guardian's mobile and the schedule runs itself. See the OPD module or book a demo.