TL;DR: Patients follow pre-treatment instructions that are short, in time order and one action per line. Write them as a timeline (two weeks before, three days before, the day before, the day itself), start each line with a verb, say why only where it changes behaviour, and send each part when it is due. Have the doctor approve the medical content; reception keeps the wording.
A patient arrives for a chemical peel with a fresh tan, wearing make-up, having used a retinoid cream the night before. All three were covered in the instructions. They were in paragraph four of a two-page PDF sent at booking, five weeks earlier. The peel is postponed, the slot is lost, and reception spends the afternoon on the phone rebooking.
Most clinics have instructions. Fewer have instructions patients actually follow. This guide shows how to write them so they cut the manual follow-up work at the clinic: the calls, the "can I still…?" messages and the postponed appointments. It is part of our aesthetic clinic marketing guide.
Why do patients not follow pre-treatment instructions?
Usually because the instructions arrive at the wrong time, in the wrong order or in too many words. A long document sent at booking is forgotten by the week it matters, and a paragraph that mixes "two weeks before" with "on the day" hides the one step due today. The fix is mostly writing and timing, not patient discipline.
Four patterns behind most missed steps:
- Timing. Everything is sent once, at booking, often weeks ahead.
- Order. Steps appear in the order the doctor thought of them, not the order the patient does them.
- Density. Several actions in one sentence, with the reason in the middle.
- Channel. A PDF attachment that is never opened on a phone.
Each pattern has a writing fix, and none of them requires new software.
How should the instructions be ordered?
By time, counting back from the appointment: what to do two weeks before, a few days before, the day before, on the day, and straight after. Patients act on the next step, so put the steps in the order they happen and give each block its own date. The doctor decides the content; the timeline decides the layout.
A timeline frame that fits most aesthetic treatments:
| Block | Typical content (the doctor decides the detail) |
|---|---|
| At booking | What the treatment involves, the date, the cancellation rule, a link to the full sheet |
| Two weeks before | Sun exposure, planned events, any products the doctor listed |
| Three days before | Products to pause, if the doctor said so; questions to raise now |
| The day before | Arrival time, make-up, what to wear, eating and drinking if relevant |
| On the day | Where to go, what to bring, the patient intake form if not yet done |
| Straight after | A link to the aftercare instructions, and who to call if something worries you |
The blocks are a frame, not medical advice. A filler, a laser hair removal session and a radiofrequency skin tightening appointment need different content in each block, and the content comes from the treating doctor.
How do you write each instruction so it gets followed?
Start every line with a verb, put one action in each line, and add the reason only when it changes what the patient does. Use the patient's words, not clinical terms, and say exactly when: "from Monday 3 March", not "a few days before". Keep each block short enough to read on a phone lock screen.
Writing rules, with before and after. The example lines show wording only; the products and timings come from your doctor:
| Rule | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| One action per line | "Avoid sun, stop retinoids and do not wax before your peel." | "Stay out of strong sun from 17 March." / "Stop your retinoid cream from 28 March." / "Do not wax the area from 28 March." |
| Verb first | "Make-up should not be worn." | "Come without make-up." |
| Exact dates | "A few days before" | "From Friday 28 March" |
| Reason only if it changes behaviour | "Due to the risk profile of exfoliating agents…" | "If you forget, tell us when you arrive. We may need to move the appointment." |
| Patient's words | "Topical retinoids" | "Retinol or retinoid creams (the doctor listed yours)" |
AI is good at this rewrite. Paste the doctor's approved instructions, with no patient details, and ask it to rewrite them as a timeline with one action per line, verb first, under 25 words per line. The doctor checks that nothing medical changed. Patient details stay out of the tool; the clinic software adds names and dates when it sends.
What does a filled instruction sheet look like?
It is a single page or a short series of messages: the date of each block, three to six lines per block, and one contact line at the end. Nothing in it should need interpretation. If reception gets the same question about a sheet twice, the sheet needs another line or a clearer one.
Example (illustrative, not a real case): a clinic's chemical peel sheet, appointment on Monday 31 March at 10:00, after the doctor's review.
- Sent at booking (3 March): "Your chemical peel is on Monday 31 March at 10:00 with Dr Varga. We will send short reminders at the right times. Need to move it? Tell us 48 hours ahead."
- Sent 17 March: "Stay out of strong sun and do not use a sunbed from today. Use the sun cream the doctor recommended every morning."
- Sent 28 March: "From today, stop the creams the doctor listed at your consultation. Do not wax, thread or use hair removal cream on your face."
- Sent 30 March: "Tomorrow at 10:00. Come without make-up. Arrive ten minutes early. Unsure about anything? Call reception today."
- Sent 31 March, after the appointment: "Here are your aftercare instructions. If something worries you tonight, call the number on the sheet."
Five messages, 16 short lines in total. Each one asks for at most three actions.
When and how should the instructions be sent?
Send each block when it is due, through the channel the patient already uses for the clinic, usually text or email from the booking system. Attach the full sheet once, at booking, for those who want it. Automated sending removes the manual reminder work, but only if the text in the system is the approved version.
Most clinic software supports this. Pabau, for example, describes online booking, digital consent forms sent before the visit and SMS and email campaigns (Pabau), and also markets an agent that drafts patient letters (Pabau). Doctors use AI for this kind of drafting too: in the AMA's 2026 survey, 19% of US physicians used it to draft replies to patient portal messages (AMA).
The order of work: the doctor approves the content, reception writes it in the timeline format, the manager loads each block into the booking system as a template with the right send time, and the patient FAQ links to the same text so both say the same thing.
How much follow-up work do clear instructions save?
No published figure exists for aesthetic clinics, so measure your own with a simple frame: the number of patients a month, the share who call or message with a preparation question, and the minutes each contact takes, plus the cost of each postponed appointment. Count for two weeks before and after you change the instructions.
The scale is worth knowing. The American Med Spa Association's 2024 report found an average US med spa sees 245 patients a month, and a single-location med spa has eight employees on average (AmSpa). At that size, a few minutes of follow-up per patient is a real share of reception's week.
The frame:
- Follow-up minutes per month = patients per month × share who contact you about preparation × minutes per contact.
- Postponement cost per month = postponed appointments × length of the lost slot.
Example (illustrative, not a real case): a clinic with 120 patients a month counts for two weeks and finds that about one patient in four calls or messages with a preparation question, at roughly six minutes each: 120 ÷ 4 × 6 = 180 minutes a month. Three peels a month are postponed, each losing a 45-minute slot. After switching to timeline messages, the clinic counts again and compares both numbers.
For the privacy side of drafting these messages with AI, see using AI in a private clinic without risking patient data. The pillar guide shows how preparation fits the whole patient journey.
If you want help writing instructions and patient messages that are clear and consistent, we are building the Conversion Copywriting Pack. Get notified when it launches.
FAQ
How do you write pre-treatment instructions patients follow?
Order them as a timeline counting back from the appointment, give each block a date, write one action per line starting with a verb, and add the reason only when it changes what the patient does. Send each block when it is due rather than everything at booking. The doctor approves the content, and reception owns the wording.
When should pre-treatment instructions be sent?
In parts, when each part is due: a short summary at booking, then the steps two weeks before, a few days before and the day before, followed by aftercare instructions straight after the appointment. Send them through the booking system's text or email messages, and attach the full sheet once at booking for patients who want everything.
Can AI write our pre-treatment instructions?
It can rewrite them. Give it the doctor's approved instructions without any patient details and ask for a timeline with one action per line and exact dates. The doctor then checks that nothing medical changed. AI should not decide the medical content itself, such as which products to pause or for how long.
How do we know if the new instructions work?
Count two numbers for two weeks before and after the change: how many patients call or message with a preparation question, and how many appointments are postponed because a step was missed. If the questions cluster around one line, rewrite that line. No published benchmark exists, so your own count is the measure.
Sources
- Pabau — Pabau, vendor homepage, accessed 2026.
- More than 80% of physicians use AI professionally: AMA survey — American Medical Association, 2026.
- 2024 Medical Spa State of the Industry Executive Report Recap — American Med Spa Association, 2024.