We use the informal “tú”
Neutral Latin American Spanish with “tú”. No voseo. The doctor gets a respectful “tú”; so does the patient. To greet a patient, their first name is used only if the doctor wrote it that way.
06 · How Heliodore speaks
Voice and tone
The voice is always the same: warm, calm and clear. The tone adjusts to who is reading (doctor or patient) and to what is happening.
Everyday words
“Cita” (appointment), not “turno asignado” (assigned slot). “Cambiar la hora” (change the time), not “reprogramar el evento” (reschedule the event). If the doctor uses a technical term, that is fine on their screen, not in the message to the patient.
No alarm, no promise
No exclamation marks, no “urgent”, no “you will feel better”. A message says what, when, where and how to change it.
Tone control
Choose who it is speaking to, in what situation and how formal. The message changes, but always within the house voice.
Tone by situation
| Situation | Tone | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Reminder | Kind and practical | “We are expecting you on Tuesday, November 3 at 9:00 a.m. If you cannot come, let us know and we will find another time.” |
| Change | Direct, with a brief apology and a way out | “We need to move your appointment. We suggest Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Does that work for you?” |
| Error | Calm, without blame | “We could not save the appointment. Check your connection and try again. Your data is still here.” |
| Success | Brief, no celebrating | “Appointment saved for Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.” |
| Empty | Guiding | “There are no appointments today. When you add one, it will appear here.” |
| Sensitive data | Neutral and discreet | “You have a new message in Heliodore.” (no name or reason) |
Vocabulary
| We say | We do not say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| patient | client, case, user | A person being cared for, not an account |
| appointment | assigned slot, slot, event | It is the word people use |
| patient chart | file card, patient database | It is the name of the document in Venezuelan medical practice (“historia clínica”). “Medical record” (“expediente”) is fine in general texts |
| change the time | reschedule, modify | An everyday verb |
| payment | transaction, ticket | What the practice does |
| could not be saved | failed, critical error, oops! | Informs without dramatizing |
Do
- “Your appointment with Dr. Sample is on Tuesday, November 3 at 9:00 a.m.”
- “There are no appointments today.”
- “We could not save the changes. Please try again.”
Don't
- “Oops! Something went wrong with your appointment 😬”
- “ATTENTION: do not miss your appointment, your health is important”
- “Error 500: transaction failed”