Confirmations and cancellations
Patients keep getting reminders after they confirm. How do I stop this?
In the left-hand menu, click Reminders.
Click the Settings tab.
Under the reminder schedule, uncheck Send reminders after confirmation is received.
How do patients confirm or cancel an appointment by text?
Patients reply to the text reminder:
To… | Patient replies |
Confirm | Yes or Y |
Cancel | No or N |
Note: These replies only work if your practice allows patients to confirm and cancel from reminders. Check this in Reminders > Settings.
Reminders not received
If I reschedule an appointment, will the patient still get all their reminders?
It depends on when you reschedule. Reminders are tied to the appointment ID, which is created when the appointment is first scheduled. Each appointment can have up to 3 reminders.
If you reschedule… | The patient gets… |
Before the first reminder is sent | All reminders |
After a reminder was already sent | Only the remaining reminders in the series |
Why didn't my patient get a reminder for a same-day appointment?
Check your reminder schedule. If your last reminder is set to go out more than 1 day before the appointment, such as 2 days or 1 week before, patients won't get a reminder on the day of the appointment.
To change it, go to Reminders > Settings and click Edit Schedule.
Why aren't my patients getting reminders?
Check these, in order:
Patient contact information. Open the patient in the Address Book and make sure they have a valid email address, cell phone, and home phone.
Patient contact preference. In the patient's Address Book entry, scroll to the bottom and check their contact preference.
The Reminders dashboard. It shows when each reminder was sent or is scheduled, and whether it failed.
Calendar and appointment type settings. Go to Inbox > Admin > Scheduling and make sure Do not send reminders isn't checked for that calendar or appointment type.
The reminder switches. On Reminders > Settings, make sure the switch next to each reminder is on.
Other questions
What happens if a patient is missing the contact info a reminder needs?
Updox automatically tries a backup method:
Reminder method | If that's missing, Updox tries… | Then… |
Home phone | Cell phone | |
Home phone | Cell phone | |
Cell phone (call) | Home phone | |
Text | Home phone |
I created reminder scripts and now they're gone. Where are they?
You're probably looking in Inbox > Admin > Templates. Reminder scripts are in a different place. In the left-hand menu, click Reminders, then click the Scripts tab.
Reminder emails show our practice address, and patients go there instead of their appointment location. How do I fix this?
Contact Updox Support and ask them to turn off the practice address in reminder emails.