The following inbound schedule file specification is supported by 1-800 Notify. (We can make adjustments to this format or functionality as needed by your organization) Typically, this file is sent via SFTP on a daily basis, then 1800 Notify parses the file by clinic ID in order to send out the reminders. Typical timing from receipt to sending of the reminders to the patients is less than 30 minutes.
All appointments for a specific day - usually the next working day are included for all clinic locations. If your patients come into their appointment multiple times a week (e.g. Physical Therapy), this single reminder sent 1 day prior to the appointment works best. If your patients only come in once every few months or so, then we recommend exploring sending 2 reminders, for example a 2-day ahead reminder and possibly a second reminder 1-day ahead.
The following is a typical schedule for sending the files (assuming appointments are Mon-Fri).
- Mon > Send Tue patients
- Tue > Send Wed patients
- Wed > Send Thu patients
- Thu > Send Fri patients
- Fri, Sat (no sending)
- Sun > Send Mon patients
Typically, this file is sent at 2:40pm local time (with the reminders going out around 3pm local), but this can be adjusted.
A sample .CSV file is attached to the bottom of this article.
Format: CSV (Comma Separated Variable)
Fields:
ApptGUID = Unique ID for this appointment in your scheduling system
ApptDate = Appointment date and time in this format: 10/4/2019 16:00
ClinicID = Unique ID for this clinic in your system
ApptType = Appointment type code (current setup is that this ApptType must contain "-NEW" if this appointment type contains a new patient / evaluation appointment and you want to send 'welcome' language in the reminder along with the clinic address)
ProviderCode = Code for the provider who is seeing this patient (e.g. ADFC, 2423, A123)
PatName = Patient full name in this format: last, first ("Smith, Jonathan")
PatLast = Patient last name
PatFirst = Patient first name
PatMiddle = Patient middle initial
HomePhone = Patient home phone, used for sending phone calls.
MobilePhone = Patient mobile phone, used for sending text messages.
PatEmail = Patient email
PrefLang = Patient preferred language (Accepted values: English, Spanish, Other) -- Allows the system to determine which language to use when sending the reminder.
ContactPref = Patient reminder preference (Accepted values: Text, Phone) -- Allows the system to determine which type of reminder is sent to this patient.
Future1 = (not used)
Future2 = (not used)
Future3 = (not used)
Comments