Overview

Every event in Cerbo can have one automated (1) email notification/ confirmation, (2) email reminder, and (3) SMS reminder. The email notification/ confirmation goes out as soon as the appointment is added to the calendar. The reminder email and SMS can be scheduled out the desired amount of time prior to the appointment.

The automated messages will include the date and time of the appointment and, in the emails, the clinic name and address. A clinic user should set up the default SMS message (see below) to include at least the clinic name.

New functionality is available as of the spring, 2022 software update to allow patients to confirm their appointment by clicking a link in the email/ SMS that they receive.

Related Articles

• Setting Up your Appointment Types
• Defining Work Schedules
• Scheduling through the Patient Portal
• Correcting Work Schedule Overlaps 
• Text Variables for Email/SMS Reminders

Video

• Short walkthrough video on how to setup custom appointment notifications and reminders.  

Details

Associating a patient with an appointment will pop up the associated automated message areas to the right of the Add Appointment window. The body of each will be pre-populated with the saved General default message(s) that you have set, if applicable. Or, if there are appointment-specific defaults set, those will override the general defaults for selected appointment type.

You can always manually customize these messages to the specific patient for that specific appointment as desired.

If you have not set up your own custom defaults (or customized the message(s) manually), then the default messages will be sent:

Email Notification: 

                Default subject: "You have a new upcoming appointment!" 

                Default text:

(Email) Reminder:

                Default subject: Your upcoming appointment

                Default text: 

SMS (text message reminder): 

***Note that the default SMS message does not include the practice name! You will want to set a custom SMS message that includes the practice name, see below for how to do that!

***When setting custom message for SMS reminders there is a 140 character maximum limit.

Patients can always opt out of SMS appointment reminders by replying STOP to a text message from your system (as required by law). 

Setting your own Default Custom Message, Subject, and/or Timing:

In Admin > Manage > Schedule Types, select "Manage Default Notifications":

The General defaults will be what appears whenever there isn't anything set for the specific appointment type that is selected. So this would be whatever message you would want to appear most often.

To set default messages that are different from the General defaults, you can first select the appointment type that you want to set default messages for in the "Manage _____ Defaults" drop down menu. If you are changing default messages for multiple different appointment types, you will need to save/ close the Manage Default Notifications window between editing each type.

For each message, you can set whether it is on or off by default, the subject line, and the text of the message. For the Reminder Email and the Reminder Text, you can set how many hours before the appointment you would like it to be sent. Type your message directly in the text area. 

• Do not include the appointment date and time in the body of the message! In the emails, this information is automatically included above your message. In the SMS, it is appended after your message, but you can use the [[datetime]] text variable (in SMS messages only!) to show the appointment date and time at a specific spot within your message.
• The patient's first name is already automatically included in the initial email notification, but not the email reminder. You can use the [[pt_first_name]] in your custom default messages for the email and SMS reminders, as desired.

Text Variables

Click on "Show Available Variables" for each message to see the variables available to use in your message. For example, to include the scheduled provider(s), scheduled appointment type, and even to allow patients to click a link to confirm their appointment.

Now when you add an appointment, you will see the text of your custom messages! You can still edit these on a per appointment basis if you would like.

Workflow Suggestion

Appointment notifications and reminders are a great place to remind your patient of anything they need to do or prepare for before their appointment - for example, to complete certain questionnaires on the Patient Portal.

You can also include cancellation policies, directions, or anything else you want your patients to be aware of beforehand!

Allowing patients to Confirm their Appointment via Link

The [[confirm_link]] text variable in an appointment message:

will insert a clickable link in the notification that the patient receives:

Once the patient clicks that link, it will automatically update the appointment status to "Confirmed". Note that you will want to initially add the appointment with a "Scheduled" status, or anything other than "Confirmed", in order to track when the patient uses that confirm link. You can change your default appointment statuses on a per-type basis under Admin > Manage > Schedule Types.

When the appointment is confirmed, the event on the calendar will change from dashed lines to a solid line. 

Details about the status change are also included in the Edit Log on the scheduled event:

Example

Below is an example for your Confirmation Email (and can be easily tweaked for a reminder email). Items in {brackets} indicate where you would want to input your practice's information. You'll want to review this example and update it for your practice needs, but it provides a good starting point if you're not sure what to say! 

Your [[scheduled_type]] with  [[scheduled_provider]] is confirmed!

To ensure your appointment time is focused on your health and what brought you in,  please complete the following via the Patient Portal before we meet:

Verify your contact Information under Account Details

Add your current Medications via the Medications Tab

Add your current Supplements via the Supplements Tab

Fill out all Questionnaires and Consents under the Questionnaires Tab (makes sure to save and continue if you need a break while working on working on a longer form to ensure you save that progress)

Upload Any Outside Labs or Records via the Labs and Documents Tab

Let Our Team know your prefered Pharmacy to route any prescriptions we fill for you via the My Pharmacies Tab

Please add your credit card via the Invoices and Payments Tab

If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please reach out to the us directly at {list phone number or email} at least 48 hours in advance whenever possible. Thank you for choosing {Your Practice Name}, we look forward to seeing you soon.