Why Appointment Reminders Aren’t Sent at the Exact Minute (e.g., 1 Hour Before)

TrackStat sends appointment reminders via text (SMS) and email to help your practice stay on schedule and reduce no-shows. Sometimes these messages arrive a few minutes early or late - for example, a “1 hour before” reminder might arrive at 55, 50, or even 45 minutes prior.

This is normal and expected. Below we explain why in simple terms and what you can do about it.

TrackStat does not sit inside your Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. Instead, it stays in constant communication with your EHR through a sync process.

- The sync runs very frequently (often every few minutes).

- Its goal is to always pull the latest appointment times, patient contact info, and any changes (cancellations, reschedules, etc.).

- This frequent syncing ensures the messages TrackStat generates are based on the most accurate and up-to-date information possible.

Because of this sync-and-check cycle, TrackStat may detect that it’s time to send a reminder a little before or after the exact target minute.

Think of sending text messages like entering a very busy freeway onramp during rush hour.

- There is a traffic light (the cell phone carriers’ system) that controls how many messages can enter the “freeway” at once.

- TrackStat generates and queues reminders every few seconds.

- If the cell phone carrier is busy, your message may have to wait a short time in line behind other messages.

- Carriers do this on purpose to prevent the system from getting flooded or overwhelmed.

The actual delivery time is approximate, not exact to the second or even the minute. A “60-minute reminder” is designed to arrive around 60 minutes before the appointment - usually within a 10–15 minute window. This is standard across the entire SMS industry, not just TrackStat.

Emails can also have slight delays due to similar queuing and spam-filter checks, though they are generally more consistent than texts.

- Most patients still receive the reminder in plenty of time to prepare or reschedule.

- The small variation does not mean the message failed or that your settings are wrong.

- TrackStat prioritizes accuracy (sending the right message to the right patient at roughly the right time) over perfect second-by-second timing.

Use clear wording in your message templates, such as “A reminder of your appointment today at 10:00 AM” instead of relying only on the exact timing.

- Message never arrived? Check the conversation history in the TrackStat Inbox. You can see the exact time it was generated and delivered.

- Patient complains about timing? You can politely explain: “Our system sends reminders approximately one hour before to keep information as accurate as possible.”

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