Token system for clinics, with a TV display that calls the next patient

How does a clinic token system work?

A clinic token system replaces the crowd at the counter with an ordered list. Each arriving patient gets a short token such as A-14, the letter showing the doctor or counter and the number restarting every morning. In Appointment Reminder App the whole flow runs on the same appointment book you already use for bookings and reminders:

1. Issue a token. The desk issues a token for a walk-in or checks in a booked patient; patients can also scan the QR poster and check in with their mobile number.
2. The TV shows Now serving. Any smart TV or browser opens the private display link and shows the token being served and the next five, per doctor or counter.
3. Staff press Call next. The display updates within about 5 seconds, plays a chime and announces the token with the browser voice in English, Hindi or Tamil where available.
4. The patient follows on the phone. The live-status page shows people ahead and an estimated wait, refreshed every 20 seconds, with no name shown.
5. Done updates the appointment. Done marks a booked visit completed so recall and feedback requests run as usual; No-show records the miss.

Because the queue is tied to appointments, checking in a booked patient also stops any pending reminder or AI call for that visit, and marking the token Done completes the appointment so the usual recall and feedback requests run (Growth and Scale plans).

Do I need a token machine or display hardware?

No. You do not need a token dispenser, a dedicated display unit or a voice box. Appointment Reminder App's display is a private web page: open it on any smart TV, Android TV box or old laptop with an up-to-date browser and press full screen. What you do need:

• A screen with a modern browser at reception, facing the waiting area.
• Internet on the screen and on the desk computer or phone.
• Speakers on the TV if you want tokens called aloud.
• A receipt printer only if you want paper slips. Any 58 mm receipt printer that prints from the browser works; the slip carries the token and a QR code to the patient's live status.

Updates reach the TV within about 5 seconds, because the display checks for changes every 5 seconds rather than holding a live connection. For a front desk that is fast enough, and it keeps the setup simple.

Can the display announce tokens in Tamil, Hindi or English?

Yes, using the voice built into the browser. When the token being served changes, the display plays a two-note chime and then speaks, for example, "Token A 14, please come to Counter 1". You choose English (India), Hindi or Tamil per display. The browser uses the voices installed on that device: many phones and laptops have Hindi and Tamil voices, some TVs do not. If the chosen language is missing, the display speaks in English, and if the device has no voice at all, it plays the chime alone. Browsers only allow sound after someone taps the screen once, so the display shows a "Tap once to enable sound" button.

Privacy is built in. The display shows the token number and, if you choose, the patient's initials (for example R. K.); it never shows full names or phone numbers. You can also show tokens only.

How do appointments and walk-ins share one queue?

Most Indian clinics see both booked patients and walk-ins, and the arguments start when nobody knows the rule. Appointment Reminder App makes the rule explicit and the same for everyone:

• Appointment-time order (default): a booked patient who checks in on time keeps their slot order; walk-ins fill the gaps in order of arrival.
• Late grace: a booked patient who arrives more than 15 minutes after the slot (you can change this) joins behind the walk-ins already waiting.
• Priority: emergency, senior-citizen and child tokens move ahead of normal waiting tokens, never ahead of the patient being seen.
• Skip and Recall: Skip moves an absent patient back 3 places; Recall announces the token again, up to 3 times.
• First come, first served: switch to pure arrival order if that suits your clinic better.

Worked example (sample tokens): at 10:20 the doctor's queue holds D-05 (walk-in, arrived 10:12) and D-06 (walk-in, 10:18). Priya booked 10:30 and checks in at 10:25, so her token D-07 takes its place at 10:30 in the order: behind D-05 and D-06, who arrived earlier, and ahead of anyone who walks in after 10:30. A senior citizen who walks in at 10:28 gets D-08 with senior priority and is called before the normal tokens still waiting.

Can patients check in themselves and track their turn?

Yes. Print the QR check-in poster from the queue board and put it at the entrance. A patient scans it, enters the mobile number they booked with and, if they have an appointment in the next 60 minutes, gets a token at once. Without an appointment they can take a walk-in token for the doctor or counter they choose (you can switch walk-ins off). The check-in page is protected by a captcha and a limit of 5 attempts per network every 10 minutes.

The patient's phone then shows their token, the token being served, people ahead and "about N minutes". The estimate is people ahead multiplied by the average of the last five consultations with that doctor today, or 10 minutes when there is no data yet. It refreshes every 20 seconds and shows no name. It is an estimate, not a promise.

Paper tokens vs hardware display vs queue software vs Appointment Reminder App

Comparison as of November 2026, from public information; hardware prices vary by seller, check with the vendor. We could not find published clinic prices for most hospital queue suites.

Which reports show waiting time by doctor?

The queue report in Appointment Reminder App shows, for any date range: tokens per hour of the day as a bar chart, average wait from check-in to being called and average consultation time from called to done for each doctor or counter, the split between walk-ins and appointments, and skip and no-show counts. Export it to CSV for your own sheet. Our guide on how to reduce waiting time in OPD explains how to use these numbers to fix the real bottleneck.

Who uses it?

• OPD clinics with one to five doctors and a mix of bookings and walk-ins.
• Diagnostic labs at the sample collection counter, where fasting patients arrive before 10 am; see appointment reminders for labs.
• Dental and physiotherapy clinics with several chairs or beds.
• Eye and health camps, alongside medical camp registration with seat limits per batch.
• Pharmacy and billing counters that need a fair order.

It is not a hospital-wide patient-flow system: there is no IPD, billing or pharmacy module, and no kiosk hardware.

Plans and price

Prices exclude 18 % GST. Everything else in the plan, including online appointment booking and automatic WhatsApp reminders, is included. Compare all plans on the pricing page or read the feature summary at features: token queue.