> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.voxhealth.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Waitlist

> Patients waiting for an earlier slot.

**Patients → Waitlist.** Available when the `WAITLIST` feature is enabled.

When a caller cannot find a time that works, the voice agent can add them here, or staff can add someone manually. They are texted automatically when a matching slot opens.

## What an entry holds

| Field                    | Why it matters                                                       |
| ------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Name and mobile number   | How they are reached when a slot opens                               |
| Preferred provider       | An entry that names a provider only matches that provider's openings |
| Preferred location       | Same, for the office                                                 |
| Earliest and latest date | The window they are actually available in                            |
| Time of day preference   | Mornings, afternoons, or either                                      |
| Notes                    | Anything the agent or staff recorded                                 |
| Source                   | Whether the agent or a person added them                             |

The narrower the preferences, the fewer slots match. An entry with no provider, no location, and a wide date range gets offered almost anything that opens.

## Status

| Status      | Meaning                                 |
| ----------- | --------------------------------------- |
| `active`    | Waiting, and eligible to be matched     |
| `notified`  | A slot opened and they have been texted |
| `booked`    | They took a slot                        |
| `expired`   | Their date window has passed            |
| `cancelled` | Removed                                 |

## Turning it on for the agent

Two things have to be true: the `WAITLIST` feature enabled for your practice, and the **Appointment Waitlist** [capability](/agents/capabilities) on the assistant. The capability also requires **Book Appointments**. The agent only offers the waitlist as an alternative to booking.

<Warning>
  Before you turn it on, decide who watches for replies. A patient texted about an opening will text back, and a waitlist nobody answers is worse than no waitlist. You have told a patient there is a slot and then gone quiet.
</Warning>

## Keeping it useful

* **Expire entries.** A waitlist with six-month-old entries generates texts to patients who booked elsewhere long ago.
* **Prefer it to a campaign for one slot.** A [campaign](/channels/campaigns) blasts everyone; the waitlist texts the people who asked.
* **Watch the notified-to-booked ratio.** A lot of notified and few booked usually means the slots being offered do not match the preferences that were recorded.

## Related

* [Availability](/patients/availability)
* [Campaigns](/channels/campaigns)