Shifa International Hospital has transformed its patient engagement by deploying Unifonic’s conversational healthcare solution, streamlining access to healthcare services for over 200,000 users while cutting communication costs by 95%.
Shifa International Hospital, a 550-bed JCI-accredited facility based in Islamabad, is one of Pakistan’s leading private healthcare institutions. Since its establishment in 1993, it has been recognized for delivering high-quality medical services across more than 45 specialties and is the country’s only hospital listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. Known for its innovation and patient-centric care, Shifa continues to set new standards, particularly through its use of technology to streamline access and improve service delivery.
To meet the evolving needs of its increasingly mobile-first patient base, the hospital’s management was seeking a partnership with a technology provider to launch an automated WhatsApp self-service channel. They wanted to simplify healthcare access, reduce operational bottlenecks, and provide 24/7 digital patient services, helping the hospital to stay at the forefront of healthcare innovation in the region.
Traditional appointment scheduling via call centers created bottlenecks, particularly for younger, mobile-first patients. In addition, the hospital needed to reduce reliance on SMS due to rising costs and delayed OTP deliveries. Expanding diagnostic service bookings, improving access to information, and increasing responsiveness were also key goals.
To address these challenges, Shifa Hospital’s management team went out to the market and, after evaluating proposals from eight vendors and carefully assessing proposals, they chose Unifonic for its balanced combination of technology, pricing, and strong support, together with extensive previous experience with healthcare-specific clients.
Unifonic provided a tailored conversational healthcare solution, which fully integrated WhatsApp together with a chatbot with Shifa’s Hospital Management Information System (HMIS). The chatbot offers patients an intuitive way to book services, manage appointments, receive updates, and interact with hospital services without the need for calls or in-person visits.
Major Features:
24/7 Appointment Booking: Patients can schedule appointments with over 300 doctors across 30 specialties. Availability is shown in real time, synced directly with the hospital's scheduling system.
Diagnostics and Home Health Services: Patients can request services directly via WhatsApp, eliminating the need for phone calls or in-person visits.
Personalized Experience: When a patient’s WhatsApp number matches hospital records, the chatbot recognizes them and pre-fills forms using their Medical Record Number.
The WhatsApp conversational healthcare solution has had a measurable impact on Shifa’s patient communications and operational efficiency. Within just two months of going live, the solution proved instrumental in shifting patient engagement to a more streamlined, digital-first model. Adoption was swift and widespread, with usage data highlighting both the scale of engagement and the efficiency gains made possible through automation.
201,880 patients interacted with the chatbot.
45,183 patients used WhatsApp OTPs to access their portal, reducing issues related to SMS delays.
8,151 bookings and service requests were completed through the chatbot.
148,546 users received timely hospital notifications through WhatsApp instead of SMS.
The shift from SMS to WhatsApp reduced the average communication cost per patient by 95%, from PKR 100 to between PKR 1.5 and PKR 5. These savings translate to an estimated PKR 20 million per year in reduced communication expenses.
Despite no formal marketing campaign, over 6 percent of chatbot users in the first two months came from outside Pakistan, including the UAE, UK, USA, and Saudi Arabia. This suggests significant potential for supporting international patient leads through accessible digital channels.
Building on the initial success of their partnership with Unifonic, Shifa plans to introduce additional features in the near future. Including:
Unifonic’s partnership with Shifa International Hospital showcases how purpose-built communication tools can simultaneously improve patient experience and create operational efficiencies. Through the WhatsApp conversational healthcare solution, Shifa was able to offer faster service, reduce support costs, and provide patients with convenient, 24/7 access to healthcare services.
This case highlights Unifonic’s ability to deliver secure, scalable solutions in highly regulated environments like healthcare, helping organizations achieve both service excellence and measurable results.