Overview
There are 2 types of reminders, appointment reminders and medical reminders. Appointment reminders are set from Settings > Configurations > View Configurations > Default Appointment Reminder. From there, you can set the default type of reminder and when it will send out. Medical reminders are set at the item level, based on the "Next Due" field and reminder action that is created on that specific item.
Reminders are sent to clients each morning at 8:00am local time (based on the practice’s timezone).
How Medical Reminders are Created
Inventory reminders are created based on actions. When a medical record is created for an item, the actions assigned to that item define how many reminders should be created, what type they should be (e.g., email, SMS, etc.), and when they should be sent. Click HERE to learn more about actions.
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To create a reminder for a inventory item, follow the steps below. These steps are for creating a simple medical reminder, where the item needs to be reminded for itself.
Select "Inventory"
Search for the applicable item in the search bar
Select "Edit Item" on the top left
In the "Next Due" field, select when the item is due again, once it is administered or performed. Either a type Inventory or Service item can have a reminder
Select "Save + Done" on the top left
Select Actions > New Action > Create Reminder
Select the type of reminder. Email and SMS are automatically sent
Fill in the applicable time in the "Send" field. This is when the reminder is sent based on when it is due. Click "Save + Done"
For example, let’s assume Item A has the following reminder actions assigned to it:
Create email reminder 2 weeks before due
Create SMS (text) reminder 1 week before due
Create email reminder 1 week after due
If a medical record is created for Item A on January 1, 2024, and Item A is due again in 12 months, the three reminders would be created as follows:
Reminder 1 (email) to be sent on December 18, 2024
Reminder 2 (SMS) to be sent on December 25, 2024
Reminder 3 (email) to be sent on January 8, 2025
Important: Setting up inventory item Uses is essential to creating reminders for items that are "used" in more than one way.
For example, instead of managing separate items for “Rabies 1 Year” and “Rabies 3 Year,” you can create a single “Rabies Vaccine Stock” item with two uses – “Rabies 1 Year” and “Rabies 3 Year” – each with its own next due value.
This allows for different reminder values to send for the same stock of item, which will allow the balance of the item to be tracked properly.
Click here to learn about Uses.
What's Included in the Reminder Message?
Learn about what details are sent in the reminder, and how to customize the content of email and SMS reminders.
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If the reminder being sent is an email, then that email will include all of the reminders for all of that client’s pets that have a send date that is the current date. In other words, the client will only receive one email containing reminders for all of his/her pets with a send date that is the current day.
Here’s an example of what that might look like:
The items might have different due dates, but they are included in the reminder if they have the same send date as described above.
The content of your email reminders can be customized using letter templates. Click HERE to learn more.
SMS Medical Reminder Customization
You have the ability to customize the content of your SMS medical reminder. Follow the steps below:
Navigate to Settings > Configurations > View SMS Default
Click "Edit" on the right of the "Medical Reminder" option
Type your message and use the variables on the right to have data prefilled when the reminder is sent.
Click "Save"
How to Track Reminders Sent Out or Due to be Sent
There are two primary ways to review which reminders have been sent, and which are scheduled to be sent. First, you can review the communication log in the patient’s history, or in the client’s profile. All automated reminders will be automatically logged there. Second, you can review the various reminder reports that are available under the “Communications” tab in the Reports module.
From the schedule, you can click the "Reminders" button on the top header to access the "Reminders Detail" Report