Clinics · reception desk
WhatsApp inbox for clinic front desks
One published number. Two receptionists. Appointment chats after the desk closes. InboxBay is the queue those people share. It is not a medical record and not a HIPAA or PDPL badge we invented.
Not an EMR. Not a HIPAA/PDPL certification. Shared inbox hub.
Appointments already arrive on WhatsApp
Clinics publish one number. Patients write it to move a Tuesday slot, ask if the lab is open Saturday, or send a photo of a referral letter. Two receptionists cover the desk across a day. After hours, the same number still lights up. The inbox job is coverage and handoff — not a chart.
The failure mode is ordinary. The morning receptionist confirms 4pm. The afternoon receptionist does not see the note and offers 4pm to someone else. Or the clinic phone goes home with one person, and Saturday’s “are you open?” sits until Sunday. A shared PIN is how you get two replies to the same patient.
InboxBay connects to the WhatsApp Business account on that published number. The two receptionists sign in to a workspace. They do not each need WhatsApp on a personal phone. Patients still write the number they already saved. The WhatsApp shared inbox is the product. This page stays on the clinic desk.
After-hours is a queue, not a phone in a bag
When the desk closes, chats can still land. The person on duty opens the workspace. They do not need the clinic handset. A saved reply can cover “we open at 9, write your preferred slot” — sent by a person, not an autonomous bot. AI suggested replies are coming soon. We do not sell after-hours answering as live AI.
Morning review is status: open means someone is still waiting; pending means you asked for a preferred time; resolved means the slot is booked and the next shift should not treat it as new. Labels can mark “new appointment” versus “results question” so the right person picks up. Labels are filters, not a diagnosis code.
Two receptionists
Two logins, one number. Assignment says who has the next reply.
Appointment note
Private: “offered Tue 4pm.” The customer never sees the note. The next desk does.
After-hours
The workspace opens on a laptop. The clinic phone can stay in the drawer.
Not a chart
Do not file lab results here and call it a medical record.
No medical-record product. No invented certification.
InboxBay is a shared inbox. It is not an electronic medical record, not a practice-management system, and not a billing system. We do not claim HIPAA certification. We do not claim a PDPL certification. We are not a law firm. WhatsApp remains Meta’s channel; Meta’s rules and fees still apply.
If your counsel needs a specific data-processing answer, email hello@inboxbay.work. Do not treat this lander as legal advice. The UAE localization page states the same limit in one sentence and does not invent PDPL guidance.
Live today: assignment, notes, labels, saved replies, collision detection, automations, round-robin. Coming soon: AI suggested replies. Stack: Chatwoot MIT core plus InboxBay overlay. Demo: demo.inboxbay.work. Prices on pricing. Labor math from your hours: team cost calculator.
InboxBay connects to WhatsApp Business. It does not replace it and is not a BSP. Clinic chats in the inbox are conversations, not a certified health record.
What the two receptionists actually share
Morning: the opener reads open and pending. A Saturday request from last night is still open. They send the hours saved reply — their text, their send — and mark pending until the patient picks a slot. They leave a note if they already offered 11am.
Midday: the second receptionist starts. They do not take the clinic phone off the first person. They sign in. Assigned threads stay with the owner unless someone reassigns. Unassigned is the list they work. They do not ask in a staff group “is anyone on Fatima?” if the assignee is already on the thread.
Close: whoever locks the door checks remaining open chats. After-hours can still arrive. The person on duty can open the workspace from home. They should not need the handset in a handbag. Collision detection on Growth matters when both receptionists are still on at handover and both see the same new chat.
None of that is a medical workflow we invented. It is the same assignment, status, notes, and saved replies described on the team support process page, written for a clinic desk. Round-robin on Growth can spread new appointment chats if one person always grabs the tab. Starter still does manual assignment at AED 499.
Straight answers
Can a clinic put WhatsApp appointments on a shared inbox?
Yes — the public number, the after-hours “are you open Saturday?” chats, and the two receptionists who cover the desk. InboxBay is that queue. It is not a medical record, not a practice-management system, and not a HIPAA or PDPL certification.
Does InboxBay store patient medical records?
No. It is a shared inbox for the conversations that land after you connect WhatsApp Business. Do not treat notes as a chart. Do not buy it as an EMR.
Are you HIPAA or PDPL certified?
We do not claim HIPAA certification or a PDPL certification we have not earned. We are not a law firm. WhatsApp remains Meta’s channel. If you need a specific healthcare compliance letter, ask us in writing — do not read one into this page.
How do two receptionists share one clinic number?
They sign in to the workspace. Incoming appointment chats sit in the queue. Someone assigns the thread or takes it from unassigned. A private note — already offered Tuesday 4pm — stays for the next desk shift.
What about after-hours messages?
They land in the same inbox. The person on duty can open the workspace without taking the clinic phone home. Status tells the morning desk what is still open. We do not invent a 24/7 SLA.
How much does it cost for a clinic?
The same list prices: Starter AED 499, Growth AED 999, Business AED 1,999 per workspace / month, 7-day trial on Ziina. Not per receptionist. Meta WhatsApp fees are extra.
Who pays Meta’s WhatsApp message fees?
Meta bills WhatsApp per delivered template or marketing message. Conversation-based pricing was deprecated as of 1 July 2025. InboxBay does not collect or mark up Meta’s fees. You keep the WhatsApp Business number.
Related pages
The desk number,
not a second chart.
Start the demo. Connect the WhatsApp Business number patients already write for appointments. Do not migrate a medical record into it.
demo.inboxbay.work · Login and Start free go to the same workspace