Introduction
Appointment reminders are one of TrackStat’s most powerful tools for reducing no-shows, improving schedule efficiency, and delivering a better patient experience. This article combines all current guidance on appointment reminder campaigns. It explains how to set up, manage, customize, and troubleshoot reminders so you can run them confidently across text (SMS) and email.
1. How to Set Up a New Appointment Reminder Campaign
Click the Communications icon (megaphone) in the lower-left corner.
Select Appointment Reminders.
Click the green + icon to create a new campaign.
Give it a clear name (example: “24-Hour Text Reminders – New Patients”) and click Save.
Configure the four main tabs:
Schedule
Set Time (recommended for most offices): All messages send at one specific time each day. Best practice: schedule in the afternoon a few hours before closing so last-minute changes are captured.
Dynamic Time: Sends only if the appointment was booked more than the selected hours/days in advance.
Dynamic Time with Sweep (ideal for busy clinics): Continuously checks for last-minute and same-day appointments. Tip: Always use the exact appointment date and time in the message when using sweep. Avoid words like “tomorrow.”
Note: If you use Dynamic Time for same-day reminders with a setting such as “2 hours before,” patients with early morning appointments (for example 8:00 AM) will receive reminders very early in the morning (such as 6:00 AM).
If you use the Set Time option for same-day reminders, all patients scheduled for that day will receive their reminder at the exact configured time. For example, if the reminder is set to send at 10:00 AM:
Patients with appointments before 10:00 AM will not receive a same-day reminder.
Patients with later appointments, such as 4:00 PM, will still receive their reminder at 10:00 AM.
For most offices, Dynamic Time is recommended for same-day reminders, but keep in mind that early morning appointments may receive reminders very early in the day.
Audience
Filter by:
Appointment Purposes (most common)
Case Types
Tags (include = green +, exclude = red –)
Providers
Visits (All, First, Not First)
Note: An appointment must match all selected filters to receive a reminder.
Example: To target only new patients, click the Appointment Purposes filter, unselect all, then check “New Patient”.
Message
Click the green + to create a new text or email message (or select one from a folder).
Use merge fields: {{PatientFirstName}}, {{AppointmentDate}}, {{AppointmentTime}}, {{OfficeName}}, {{OfficePhone}}, {{OfficeDirectionsLink}}, {{OfficeFormLink}}
Always include your clinic name and phone number for deliverability.
For new patients, add the {{OfficeFormLink}} merge field to automatically include intake forms (set up the link first in Account Settings → Form Link). Note: if you have multiple intake forms, add the links in Account Settings and then select the specific form merge field within the message. Each intake form link added in Account Settings will have it's own unique merge field in the message.
If your primary message is a text, consider adding a Backup email in case the text fails to deliver.
Never put a period (.) right after a merge field like {{OfficeFormLink}} or {{OfficePhone}} . If you do, the link or phone number won’t be clickable for the person receiving the text message.
Quick fix: End your sentence before the merge field, or just add a space instead of a period.
Settings (Limits)
None – send to every matching appointment.
Limit to one reminder per patient per day (recommended when patients have multiple same-day appointments). Reminder will be sent for the earliest appointment. Do NOT schedule multiple appointments for the same patient at the exact same time and date. The time must be different in order for this feature to function properly.
Limit to one reminder per phone number or email per day (helpful for families sharing contact info).
When finished, click the green Enable button (shows a green bell) and Save. The campaign is now live.
2. Managing and Editing Campaigns
Enable / Disable: Open the campaign → click Enable (green bell) or Disable (red bell) in the top right.
Edit for a specific patient (extra reminder for forgetful patients): Open the patient’s card → Reminders tab → edit the campaign → add an exception send time under Exceptions.
Global limits: Available under Global Settings if you want the same rule across all campaigns.
Only users with User Plus, Manager, or Administrator roles can create, edit, or disable campaigns.
3. Customizing and Targeting Reminders
Using Tags (powerful for personalization) Tags let you include or exclude patients based on preferences, language, or special needs.
Assign tags in the patient’s profile.
In the Audience tab of a campaign: click a tag once for include (green +) or twice for exclude (red –).
Common tag use cases:
Language-specific reminders (e.g., "Spanish" inclusion tag +).
Patients who want email-only (exclude "email only" from all text campaigns).
Patients who do not want reminders for most appointments ("no reminders" exclusion tag).
Editing Templates
Click the Edit (pencil) icon to create a copy of any master template.
Always make sure your custom message is selected in the campaign Message tab.
Use Shift + Enter for single spacing in emails; Enter for double spacing.
Including Intake Forms
Add the {{OfficeFormLink}} merge field to new-patient reminders after setting up the form link in Account Settings. Keep in mind the merge field for form link will vary if you have more than one form.
Preventing Overlapping Messages
Review audience settings regularly to ensure no overlaps exist in your reminder audiences.
4. Behavior After Rescheduling or Changes
Reminders (48-hour, 24-hour, 2-hour, etc.) are still sent after appointment is properly rescheduled using the reschedule function.
If the new appointment time falls inside an already-triggered send window, that reminder may not fire again.
Changing an appointment date/time directly in the EHR scheduler (without using Reschedule/Cancel function) can prevent a second reminder from sending. Always reschedule through the proper function when possible.
5. Troubleshooting: Why Didn’t a Patient Receive a Reminder?
Most common reasons (consolidated from all sources):
No valid cell phone number or email address on file.
Contact information entered incorrectly or in the wrong field.
Appointment purpose, case type, or provider not selected in the campaign audience.
Contact data such as cell phone number or email address is inconsistent across the patient’s cases in your EHR (must match in ALL cases).
Appointment was added or changed after the reminder send time (or too close to the database sync).
Appointment was changed after a reminder had already been sent for the original time.
Patient replied “STOP” (texts) or clicked unsubscribe (email).
Cell phone carrier or email service delivery issue.
Why Did a Patient Receive Double Texts or Emails for One Appointment?
If a patient received duplicate reminders for the same appointment, please check the two most common causes below:
Cause 1: Overlapping Appointment Reminders
Navigate to your Appointment Reminders settings and check whether the same specific “Appointment Type” has accidentally been added to multiple active reminder campaigns scheduled to send at the same time or different time.
Cause 2: Online Scheduling Confirmations
Check whether the patient scheduled the appointment online. When a patient uses the online scheduler, the system automatically sends an immediate confirmation email. This message is separate from your standard scheduled Appointment Reminders, which will still send normally according to the campaign schedule.
Why Did My Reminder Send a Few Minutes Late?
If you have a reminder scheduled to send exactly 1 hour or 2 hours before an appointment, you may occasionally notice that it sends closer to 45 minutes or 1.5 hours prior. This happens because automated messages require time to generate, process, and send through the system.
Please note that the earliest an automated reminder can be scheduled to send is 1 hour before the appointment time. For example, reminders cannot be configured to send 15 or 30 minutes before a visit.
Quick check steps:
Search for the patient → open Patient Card → click Validate next to phone/email to confirm phone number is a cell phone (not landline) and email address is valid. Validating phone numbers is only used for troubleshooting purposes. It is NOT necessary for sending text messages.
Check Disable Text and Disable Email boxes are unchecked (or uncheck them with patient permission).
Confirm the appointment purpose/case type is included in the campaign.
For EHR-specific audit logs:
ChiroTouch: Maintenance → System Auditing → Reports → filter by patient and date.
ClinicMind: Schedule → Patient → Sched tab → View → Logs.
Opt-out / Opt-back-in:
Text “STOP” to opt out of texts; text “START” to resume.
Email unsubscribe link works automatically.
Staff can manually re-enable via the Patient Card → Reminders tab with patient permission.
Will Appointment Reminders Be Sent If the Appointment Type is Changed?
Short Answer: It depends on your EHR system. TrackStat relies on how your EHR tracks appointment edits or changes. Not all EHRs notify TrackStat of updates in the same way.
Detailed Behavior by EHR
ChiroTouch Server (Classic) EHR Yes - changing the appointment type (visit purpose) will trigger a new appointment reminder. If an appointment reminder campaign is configured for the new type (e.g., “Progress Exam”), TrackStat will generate and send the corresponding reminder message according to the campaign schedule.
ClinicMind EHR No - changing the appointment type will not trigger a new reminder. The original appointment reminder (based on the initial type, e.g., “Adjustment”) remains in place. To send a reminder for the new type, you must delete the existing appointment and create a new one with the correct visit purpose.
Best Practices & Recommendations
Always verify the appointment type is correct at the time of scheduling to avoid the need for changes later.
For ClinicMind users: Train front-desk staff to delete and recreate appointments when the visit purpose changes if a reminder for the new type is required.
Test behavior in your specific EHR by making a sample appointment change and monitoring the TrackStat message queue (or patient message history).
Troubleshooting Tip: If patients are not receiving the expected reminder after an appointment type change, check the appointment history in your EHR. Confirm the appointment type matches an active campaign.
6. Best Practices & Tips
Use Dynamic Time with Sweep for clinics with many same-day or last-minute appointments.
Schedule “Set Time” reminders in the afternoon to handle replies efficiently.
For new patients: add “Please arrive 15–30 minutes early to complete paperwork” or use the intake form link.
Keep messages clear, friendly, and concise.
Test new campaigns before enabling.
Edit campaigns outside of active patient hours to avoid impacting in-progress reminders.
New appointment purposes from your EHR appear in TrackStat only after they have been used at least once.
New-patient specific tip: If you want patients to arrive early for paperwork, either (1) update the reminder wording, or (2) create a separate “NP Intake” appointment purpose at the earlier time and target reminders only to that purpose.
Sending an Extra Reminder to Forgetful Patients
For patients who need an additional nudge:
1. Open the patient’s Patient Card (via Patient Search or Inbox).
2. Go to the Reminders tab.
3. Click the edit icon next to the campaign name.
4. Under Exceptions, click the + icon and set the new send time (e.g., 2 hours before the appointment).
5. Click Save.
Limiting Reminders for Patients with Multiple Same-Day Appointments
To avoid sending multiple reminders to the same patient on one day:
- In the campaign Settings tab, enable “Limit appointment reminder to one per patient per day”.
- Or apply the limit globally under Global Settings (recommended only if all campaigns use similar timing (all dynamic or all set time).
Understanding Reminder Statuses (Text Messages)
- Queued – Message created
- Accepted – Preparing to send message
- Sent – Message sent
- Delivered – Message confirmed received by cell phone carrier
- Undelivered – Message not delivered (carrier issue or issue with recipient's cell phone)
- Failed – Message could not be sent
How to Disable or Turn Off a Specific Reminder Campaign
We recommend keeping reminder campaigns active whenever possible, as they play a key role in reducing no-shows. However, if you need to pause a specific campaign:
1. Go to Communications (megaphone icon) → Appointment Reminders.
2. Click the name of the campaign you want to pause.
3. Click Disable in the top-right corner.
4. Click Save.
5. The campaign will have a red bell indicating that it is disabled.
Disabled campaigns will no longer send reminders for future appointments.
Note: Only users with User Plus, Manager, or Administrator roles can create, edit, or disable campaigns.
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