Reminder Mate Troubleshooting

Because the service involves different types of messages sent to patients a day or more ahead of a scheduled appointment, issues with Reminder Mate can take different forms and are sometimes difficult to confirm or replicate.

If you notice that Reminder Mate did not send a reminder to one or more patients ahead of their scheduled appointments, there are several different basic things you can review to determine whether an appointment should have received a reminder.

Verify Reminder Mate Is Turned On

Reminder Mate as a service can be turned on or off by Practice Mate/EHR 24/7 usernames who have been granted admin rights. Confirm that Reminder Mate is currently enabled.

1. Reminder Mate Settings

• Click the Appointments tab and hover over the Options tab.

• Select Reminder Mate Settings.

• Additionally, you can also access the Reminder Mate settings by clicking Manage Office under the Admin section.

Verify Reminder Settings for the Appointment or Patient

Each appointment contains its own reminder settings – while you can set defaults, reminders can be enabled, disabled, or modified for each appointment at any time. If you have a specific appointment with reported reminder issues, make sure reminders are enabled and set correctly.  

1. To Verify Reminder Settings

• Edit the appointment from the Appointments tab.

• Review the selected reminder settings in the Reminder section.

• Ensure the reminder is not set to Skip for the appointment.

• Confirm that the appointment status is set to Active.

• Note: Appointments with any other status will not receive reminders.

Review Appointment Creation Date/Time

Appointments must be created at least 24 hours before a scheduled reminder is set to be sent. If appointments are scheduled on short notice, or if reminders are configured to be sent several days in advance, this may result in inconsistent or missing reminders. Verify that the appointment was created at least 24 hours before the scheduled reminder send time (not the appointment date or time).

1. Steps to Confirm When an Appointment Was Created

• Go to the Appointments tab.

• Hover over Options and select Appointment Page Settings.

• Use the drop-down menu next to Daily Detail View and select Use Custom Page.

• Click Update to save your changes.  

• From the left column, select Date Created and click Select to add it as a column.

• Click Update to save your changes.

Verify Patient Demographic Information Matches Reminder Type

Ensure the reminder type matches the patient’s contact information saved in Patient Demographics. For example, if a patient is set to receive text reminders but only has a Home Phone listed, the reminder will not be sent.

Check for Appointment Changes

If an existing appointment is edited to be rescheduled for a future date, this can interfere with Reminder Mate functionality. To ensure reminders are sent as expected, we recommend scheduling new appointments rather than editing an existing appointment.

1. Steps to Verify Appointment Changes

• Determine whether the appointment date or time was changed for the scheduled appointment. In some cases, the reminder may have already been sent.

• Check the Audit Log Report for the appointment under Action Type “Changed” to see if any changes were made, when they happened, and which user made them.

Other Helpful Tips

If you notice issues with Reminder Mate or want to ensure reminders are being sent correctly, follow these tips:

1. Check for confusion with SMS Self Check-In

• Patients may confuse a text message prompting them to check in for an appointment as a ‘reminder.’ Confirm there is no confusion between Reminder Mate and SMS Self Check-In.

• If reminders are turned off but patients are still receiving text messages, check whether SMS Self Check-In is enabled:

• Practice Mate / EHR 24/7 > Manage Office > Intake/Agreement Forms > SMS Self Check-In

2. Test Reminder Mate Functionality

• Reminder Mate issues reported by patients can be difficult to confirm. To verify that messages are being sent as expected, create a test patient using your own phone number and email address.

• Note: All reminders, including those for test patients, are included in monthly invoice calculations.

3. Contact Client Support if Needed

• Our Client Support team may be able to help with additional troubleshooting or confirm if there are any active, ongoing technical issues with the service.

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