Reminder alerts can be used to remind patients of something at a selected time interval. This setting will send the patient a single text message with a message configured by the facility.
We have two separate reminder alerts available to send patients: Reminder Alerts #1 and Reminder Alerts #2.
The settings for these alerts can be found in Patient Queue Settings and the messages can be configured in Alert Templates ID 62 and 64.
These alerts go only to patients in the 'New' (i.e., the leftmost) column, specifically walk-in patients with status 'New' and online patients with status 'New-Arrived' (it excludes patients who booked an appointment and have not yet arrived).
Parameters:
You are able to send a reminder <5, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120> minutes or <4, 8, 12, 24, 36, 48> hours<before, since> a <online, walkin> patient's <reservation time, submission time>.
Reservation Time applies to both walk-in and online patients.
Note: The system will always assign a projected treatment time in the background; you can configure whether to show this time to patients/pet owners (note that most Vet ERs and Emergency Department choose not to show it) who use the curbside/mobile/walk-in workflow. The projected treatment time will work as the reservation time for walk-in patients.
Submission Time refers to the time that a walk-in or online patient completes and submits their reservation form.
Use Cases:
There are many different ways to utilize the two Reminder Alerts, but here are some common use cases.
Use Case 1: If you are a walk-in facility that usually sees patients within 30 minutes of arrival, you may want to set a reminder for 45 minutes Since Submission Time to assure your walk-in patients that you have not forgotten about them and you are experiencing longer than normal wait times.
Use Case 2: To help prevent no-shows for online patients, you may want to remind a patient that they have an upcoming reservation an hour before their reservation. In this case, you would set a reminder alert for 60 minutes Before Reservation Time.
How to configure Reminder Alerts:
Step 1: Navigate to Online/Walk-in Module > Patient Queue Settings.
Step 2: Scroll down the page until you see a setting labeled Reminder Alerts #1 and Reminder Alerts #2. Click on the Reminder Alert you wish to configure. The configurable parameters will appear.
Step 3: Toggle the (1) switch ON (should be blue to indicate ON). Configure the (2) Online and Walk-in patient toggles to ON or OFF for each patient-type. Click the respective dropdowns to edit the parameters.
When you are done editing, press the green page-level Save button.
Step 4: Now we need to configure the message that will be sent to patients. Navigate to (1) Global Settings > (2) Alert Templates. Scroll down to (3) Alert Template ID 62 or 64. Alert Template 62 is for Reminder Alert #1 and Alert Template 64 is for Reminder Alert #2. Double click on the desired alert ID to open up the modal.
Step 5: Make sure the toggle in the upper right corner is set to Custom. Edit the body of the message. Press the green Save button.
