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How to Adjust Your Appointment Reminder Settings

appointment-reminders, automation, schedule-notifications, manual-reminders Customize when/how patients get reminded about their appointment

Kyle Davidson avatar
Written by Kyle Davidson
Updated over 2 weeks ago

✨ When You Need This Guide

You’re in the right place if you’re:

  • Trying to change when appointment reminders go out

  • Needing to edit reminder settings for existing patients

  • Wanting to send a one-time appointment reminder manually

  • Unsure how to disable or switch reminder types (like text vs. email)

This guide walks you through how to manage both automated and manual appointment reminders.

🔧 What You’ll Need First

Make sure you:

  • Have access to the Automation page via the gear icon

  • Know your preferred reminder templates and timing

  • Have the patient name handy if you’re sending a manual reminder

📌 What This Covers (And What It Doesn’t)

This article helps you:

  • Adjust the timing and type of automated reminders

  • Add multiple appointment reminders

  • Send a manual, one-time reminder via text or email

It does not cover how to edit the content of the reminders—check our Editing Appointment Reminder Templates guide for that.

✅ Customize Automated Appointment Reminders

  1. Click the gear icon ⚙️
    Located at the top right of your Aloha account.

  2. Go to the “Automation” page
    This is where you control all time-based automations.

  3. Scroll to the "Appointment Reminders" section

  4. Choose your communication preferences

    • For each reminder, choose to Send SMS, Send Email, or Disable the message.

    • These settings tell the system what format to send.

  5. Set the timing

    • Use the “When” drop-down to set how far in advance of the appointment the reminder should go out (e.g., 1 day before, 2 hours before, etc.).

  6. Want to send more than one reminder?

    • Click the blue “Add Appointment Reminder” button.

    • Choose the timing and template for each additional reminder.

  7. Click "Save" to apply your changes 💾
    ​

✉️ Send a One-Time Manual Appointment Reminder

Sometimes you just need to nudge a single patient without changing your whole system. Here’s how to do it:

🔹 To Send a Manual Text Reminder:

  1. Go to the Conversations page

  2. Search for the patient using the search bar

  3. Type your message in the new message bar

  4. Send now or schedule it for later using the clock/calendar icon

🔹 To Send a Manual Email Reminder:

  1. Go to Contacts > Send Bulk Message

  2. Choose Send Email Only

  3. For Recipient Criteria, select Search by Name

  4. Choose a saved message template or write a custom email

  5. Send now or schedule it for later

💡 Troubleshooting Tips

Problem

What to Check

Patients aren’t receiving reminders

Make sure the right templates and timing are selected under Automation

Want to stop email or text reminders

Set that reminder to DISABLE in the drop-downs

Reminder went to wrong patient

Double-check recipient details in manual send

🎉 You'll Know It Worked When:

  • Patients get the right message at the right time before their appointment

  • You see outgoing reminders logged in the Messages section

  • A patient confirms or shows up because of a reminder you sent!

💬 Need Help? We're Here!

Have questions or something not working?

  • Message us via the in-app chat

  • We reply within 30 minutes during business hours

  • Your Account Manager can help with custom workflows or templates

Related Resources:

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