This article describes how to set up and use automated appointment reminders and lab work reminders using Healthpac Scheduler / Healthpac Premium system and 1-800 Notify.   (Healthpac is a 30 year old national developer of billing software and has thousands of physicians and over 90 billing companies using its user friendly, intuitive software. Learn more at www.healthpac.net)  You can setup your Healthpac scheduling system to automatically send the reminders (phone call or text message) to 1-800 Notify.  Your patients are then called or texted and you will see the reminder results automatically in your Healthpac schedule.  This is a fully automated 2-way communication between Healthpac and 1-800 Notify.  Once you enable it, it will run automatically.

STEP 1: Verify your Healthpac Scheduler / Healthpac Premium version

Integration with 1-800 Notify requires the release of 7/22/2014, version 2014.3 or later to work.  You can check your version and download the latest release of Healthpac by going to the Administrative Menu and clicking the Software Update tab.

STEP 2: Contact 1-800 Notify to Set Up Your Account and Custom Messages

Contact 1-800 Notify (info@1800notify.com) or call 1-800-939-1853 to set up your account.  You can create 100% custom appointment reminder phone scripts and text message reminders.  We also support email reminders.  Once your account is set up, you will be able to complete your setup and start using 1-800 Notify for all your reminder needs.

STEP 3: Enable the Auto Dialer and Select 1-800 Notify in Healthpac Settings

In the Healthpac Scheduler, click on the Custom Features menu on the left side, then click the Scheduler Client Options, **then click the Auto Dialer tab.**

Now, check the box next to** "Auto Dialer Enabled" **

And click the radio button to** select 1800 Notify**

 

Click the Save button at the top.

STEP 4: Configure 1-800 Notify Options

Once you select 1-800 Notify, you will see additional configuration tabs appear below.  

 

4-1  Click the Appointment Reminders tab.

Set your allowed Languages:  Currently ENGLISH and SPANISH are supported.

Check the box next to Skip Confirmed Appointments? if you would like to skip sending a reminder to someone who has already confirmed their appointment.  You might want to leave this box unchecked if you send a 7-day and a 1-day reminder in order to make sure everyone receives the 1-day reminder (even those who confirmed the 7-day reminder).

Check the box next to Update Appt. Comments with call Result? if you would like to add to the appointment comments field details about the specific reminder (e.g. when the call was placed, if a message was left, a person answered without confirming, or if a text message was sent, etc.)

You can ignore the Call only first appointment of the day, as 1800 Notify will handle the combining logic on our end.

Under the Send dialer reminder(s) this number of days before the scheduled appointment, check the number of days you require.

VERY IMPORTANT -- If you want to make changes to the days selected you have to first un-check 1800 Notify at the top.  SAVE.  Then re-check 1-800 Notify at the top and check all the days you want selected.  Then SAVE.

If you wanted to send two reminders -

1 day prior and 2 days prior, you would check the

1 Day   and    2 Days boxes. 

NOTE: The number of days are working days only, and do not include non-working days (such as weekends) as you set up in your Healthpac schedule settings.

 

Remember to SAVE your settings by clicking the top button on the top.

 

 

STEP 5: Configure Patient Demographics 

For patients you wish to receive reminders, you will need to specify if they should receive a phone call or text message and to which phone number: Home, Work or Other.

 

 

AUTOMATIC DAILY PROCESS

Now that you have completed the set up steps, all reminders will be sent automatically on the days in advance of the appointments you specified.

PATIENTS WILL BE CALLED OR TEXTED

For appointment reminders, every night the next day's reminders are sent automatically to 1-800 Notify so the patients can be called or sent text messages. 

NOTE ON SCHEDULE TIMING:

Healthpac pulls the schedule in the middle of the night (about 2 or 3 am) and we send reminders first thing the next morning.  (about 9am local time).

What this means?

Any patient scheduled when you closed your office the day before would be sent a reminder.

If you open your phones at 8am, then any patient schedule changes done that morning would NOT change the reminders to be sent at 9am that morning (since the schedule was pulled the night before - before you made your schedule changes).

 

SETUP IN 1800 NOTIFY TO SEND RESULTS BACK TO HEALTHPAC SCHEDULER:

In the Admin tab, click Modify under Organization.

Click the first Results tab.

Set CSV Report Type = Quoted

Check the box for Send CSV file to SFTP Site

Host = sftp.1800notify.com

User = Login account #

Password = SFTP Password

Folder = /home/(sftp login user)/out

APPOINTMENT REMINDER RESULTS WILL BE UPDATED THE NEXT DAY IN HEALTHPAC

Automatically, by the next day, all the appointment statuses and comments will be updated inside Healthpac with the reminder results. See the related article here:

https://1800notify.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000379411