Two specific patient profiles convert at exceptional rates in the last two weeks of December. Both are sitting in your EHR right now. One short SMS to each, sent on the right day, brings a measurable share of them back before January 1. The work is 15 minutes of list-pulling and one well-timed broadcast.
Profile 01. The patient with met deductible
Patients who hit their insurance deductible earlier this year and have not used the remaining covered services. Pull this list from your billing system in 10 minutes by filtering 'deductible met' and 'no visit in last 60 days.' These patients have a financial reason to come in before January 1 (whatever they would pay full price for in January, they can get covered now). They almost always do not realize this until reminded. SMS template: 'Hi [first name], [practice] here. You met your deductible this year and we have a same-week slot available before December 31. Reply YES to book or [link] to see the calendar.'
Profile 02. The patient with HSA/FSA balance
Patients on flexible spending accounts that reset January 1. Pull this list by filtering patients who have used HSA/FSA cards this year. Most have unspent balances and a use-it-or-lose-it deadline. Same time pressure, different mechanism. SMS template: 'Hi [first name], a quick note from [practice]. If you have FSA funds left for 2027, we have same-week slots through December 30 for [eligible services]. Reply YES to book or [link] to see the calendar.'
When to send
Send the first wave on December 8 or 9. Send a second wave on December 18 or 19 to the patients who did not respond. Send a third wave on December 28 to the patients who still have not booked, with a sharper deadline: 'Last day to use your 2027 benefits is December 31. Same-week slots remaining: [link].' The three waves recover most of the patients who were going to come back at some point anyway, into a quarter where the revenue compounds against year-end goals.
What this does to January
A side benefit most practices miss. Recovering deductible-met and HSA-balance patients in December lightens January demand, which is the highest-pressure month of the year for primary-care and chronic-disease practices. The end-of-year recall is, in effect, a load-balancing move on top of a revenue-recovery move.
The patient who could not justify the visit in October finds the decision easy in late December. Money the patient already paid for, plus a same-week slot, equals a rebooked appointment inside 24 hours.
Practice Site Pro ships with the two-profile recall workflow preconfigured in GHL, with the list pulls automated against the EHR and billing system, the three-wave schedule queued, and the deliverability tuned for the high-volume December SMS window.