Can hospitals and clinics use AI to call patients?

What clinics can safely automate

• —Appointment booking into a real calendar slot.
• —Reminders the day before and on the morning of the appointment.
• —Lab or diagnostic report-ready alerts, without reading out results.
• —Post-visit feedback and follow-up scheduling.
• —Callbacks to enquiries from Practo, Google or the clinic website, and answering calls to the clinic's own number.

What must stay with clinicians

The Telemedicine Practice Guidelines 2020 allow only registered medical practitioners to consult and prescribe, and state that AI and machine-learning tools cannot counsel patients or prescribe medicines. A voice agent should not interpret symptoms, discuss results or suggest treatment. If a caller describes an emergency, the script should direct them to emergency services or the hospital's emergency line.

Data protection on health calls

The DPDP Act 2023 does not create a separate 'sensitive' category, but health details are personal data and a leak is serious. Confirm identity before discussing appointment details, avoid naming the condition or specialty when someone else answers, and keep recordings access-restricted. IVF, mental health and sexual health clinics should be especially careful about what the agent says to whoever picks up.

Sector-specific limits

Fertility clinics and centres doing ultrasound must comply with the PC-PNDT Act 1994, which bars any communication about sex determination. Claims about curing diseases are restricted by the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954, so keep promotional scripts factual.

How Outpero fits

Outpero can book slots in your calendar, run reminder campaigns, answer calls to the clinic's number and send a WhatsApp confirmation during or right after the call. The clinic writes the guardrails, including what the agent must never discuss.