Automated Patient Appointment Reminders (Call & Text) from QuickEMR / Quick EMR (Version 7 Legacy)
Want to learn more or get a free trial? Contact QuickEMR Directly or visit their web site at www.QuickEMR.com
NOTE: If you are on QuickEMR version 8 or higher, please see this article: https://1800notify.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001670292
In this article, we show users of QuickEMR, (Quick EMR) a leading Physical Therapy EMR provider, (www.quickemr.com) 
how to set up their patients to receive Phone and/or Text Message Appointment Reminders for their patients.
GETTING STARTED: SET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS FOR RESULTS
Inside QuickEMR, go to File > Options > General Options
Click the More tab.
Enter the email address you want to receive the reminder calling results.
STEP 1: EDIT PATIENT INFO. FOR PHONE / TEXT (ONE TIME)
TIP: You only need to do this once for each patient and it is usually best to do this when you first enter their information. You can add text like this to your new patient intake forms to make it part of your process: We offer phone or text appointment reminders, please let us know your preference and provide us with the best phone number for your phone reminders and your text message reminders (Mobile number).
TIP FOR NICKNAMES: USE THE "CALL BY" FIELD
If you have any patients with nicknames, please put them in the CALL BY field just under the name field. We can also handle names that you put in parentheses ( ) inside the First Name field (not quotes). Then our system will then correctly use the Call By / nickname for the call or text.
For patients who wish to receive phone call reminders, edit their PATIENT INFO tab to make sure they have the Reminder Calls check box checked and at least one phone number listed. The Reminder Calls will always be sent to the first number listed on their Info screen. In the picture below, this person will receive the call to their Home phone number.
For patients who wish to receive a text message reminder, check the box next to Reminder Text Message and make sure you put a Mobile phone number in the list below (to receive the text messages).
WARNING: If you check BOTH Calls and Texts, the patient will receive BOTH a Reminder Call and Reminder Text.
Image 1.1
STEP 2: SELECT DATE AND SEND REMINDERS (DAILY PROCESS)
This daily task can be done in a minute or two when you get used to doing it.
Each day you want to send reminders, simply select Schedule > Reminder Calls
Image 2.1
Now, select the appointment date for which you want to send reminders (usually, the next working day). And click the** Get Results** button.
Image 2.2
You will see a list of patients scheduled on that date who have been set up in STEP 1 to receive either a call or text reminder.
_NOTE: If you do not want to send a call or text to a particular patient, you may un-check them in the left column as shown below. _
Now, click the **Upload **button at the bottom of the window.
Image 2.3
Next, you should see a success pop-up window.
Image 2.4
Your calls and texts will be sent right away, unless you sent the calls on "off hours".
NOTE: Calls and text messages can only be sent between 9am and 8pm local time for your clinic.
REMINDER CALLS: WHAT YOUR PATIENT HEARS
As soon as you upload your patient schedule information, assuming the time is between 9am and 8pm (your local time), your patients who selected calls, will be called.
NOTE: You can CUSTOMIZE what is said on your phone calls during your set up process - the info. below is simply as an example.
Image 2.5
REMINDER TEXTS: WHAT YOUR PATIENT SEES
Also, as soon as you upload your file, assuming it's between 9am and 8pm (your local time), your patients who have selected text messages will receive a text message and be able to reply with a "Y" to confirm or tap to call your clinic number to cancel or reschedule.
NOTE: The number they receive the text message from will not be your clinic phone number (you cannot text from a land line). Instead the number they receive the text from will be a number provided by our provider 1-800 Notify for this purpose.
NOTE: You can CUSTOMIZE what shown on your text messages during your set up process - the info. below is simply as an example.
Image 2.6
STEP 3: RECEIVE REMINDER CALL / TEXT RESULTS (EMAIL & INSIDE QUICKEMR)
Once the reminder calls and texts have been sent, you will immediately receive the results in two ways:
(1) JOB COMPLETED EMAIL
(2) RESULTS INSIDE QUICKEMR
JOB COMPLETED EMAIL RESULTS
The JOB COMPLETED email will be sent to the email you supplied on your sign up form and look like this image below:
TIP: If you want this sent to multiple email addresses, please contact us at support@1800notify.com or contact QuickEMR directly - please include your Facility Code and Location code in any email.
Image 3.1
JOB COMPLETED RESULTS INSIDE QUICKEMR
To see your job completed results inside QuickEMR, please follow these steps:
(1) Select Schedule > Reminder Call Results from the menu.
Image 3.2
(2) You will see two tabs at the top, Open and Closed Jobs. The Open Jobs are calls/text reminders that you have sent but not yet been completed. The Closed Jobs are completed reminders.
(3) Click the Closed Jobs tab and the Show Results link in the left column next to the date you sent your reminder job.
You will then see the results in the right section of the window.
Image 3.3
Here are the possible Reminder Results status message and what they mean:
_Person answered: Someone answered the phone and listened to the message or simply answered said 'Hello' and hung up. _
_Left message: An answering machine answered the call and a special answering machine message was left (no press 1 or 2 in the message). _
Appointment confirmed: The person pressed '1' to confirm their appointment via phone call reminder.
_ Appointment confirmed (Y): The person replied 'Y' to a reminder text to confirm their appointment._.
_Transfer to office: The person pressed '2' to transfer to your front desk to reschedule. _
Busy or no answer: The person was not reachable after four attempts to reach them (phone had busy signal, other error signal, or simply no answering machine on this number). NOTE: You will not be charged for any calls that are this "Busy/No Answer" status,
Text message sent: A text message was sent but the person did not confirm the appointment via text within a waiting period.
TRAINING YOUR PATIENTS / INTRODUCING THE REMINDER SERVICE
It can help to train your patients or introduce the new service to your patients. One thing that works well is to explain to your patients that you are using this service to help provide reliable voice and text reminders to them while at the same time being able to spend more time in the clinic helping them with their needs.
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