Dental Intelligence utilizes TouchPoints™, an automated reminder system to ensure patients are notified about their appointments. However, there may be times when reminders or notifications behave differently than expected. This article covers common issues related to patient reminders and notifications, explains how to troubleshoot them, and outlines best practices for managing TouchPoints™.
Common Issues and Their Solutions
1. Patients Did Not Receive Reminders or Confirmations
If patients report not receiving reminders or confirmation requests, consider the following:
Check TouchPoint™ Appointment Reminder Configuration: The system might be set to send one reminder 7 days before the appointment and a confirmation request 2 days before. Verify these settings as set in each TouchPoint™.
View Communication Details: Ensure that the "Show all communication" option is enabled in Patient Chat to view the complete history of sent reminders.
Check Patient Communication Preferences: Ensure that the patient has not opted out of receiving texts and/or emails in their patient card. Additionally, check to ensure that the patient's phone number is not currently on your practice Blacklist, as this will prevent the patient's phone number from receiving messages.
2. Reminders Missing for Unconfirmed Patients
When reminder schedules are created or modified after an interval (e.g., 3 days before the appointment) has already passed, the automated system skips that reminder. These patients will instead receive only the short-term SMS reminders (e.g., 2 hours before the appointment).
3. Early Morning Appointment Reminders Suppressed
Dental Intelligence applies global quiet hours, which suppress automated reminders during specific times:
Non-appointment days: No reminders are sent between 8:00 PM and 9:00 AM.
Appointment day: Reminders are blocked between 8:00 PM the previous night and 8:00 AM.
For instance, a patient with a 9:00 AM appointment will receive their 2-hour reminder the evening before. This quiet-hour policy explains why early-morning reminders, such as 1-hour notifications, are not sent.
4. Lack of Advance Reminder Texts
If your TouchPoints™/reminder schedule includes only a single reminder set to send shortly before the appointment (e.g., 2 hours prior), earlier notifications will not be sent. You can adjust the schedule to add reminders at other intervals, such as 7 days and 1 day before the appointment.
5. Reminder Changes Locked During System Updates
During regular Dental Intelligence system updates, you might be unable to edit or turn off appointment reminders during the update process. During this time, reminder settings are temporarily locked. You will need to wait until the update is complete to regain access to the settings.
6. Patient Has No Contact Information on File
If a patient is not receiving reminders, check that they have the appropriate contact information on file in your PMS. TouchPoints™ send via the preferred delivery channel configured (text or email) — if the patient does not have that information recorded, no message will be sent.
Missing mobile number: If the TouchPoint™ is set to deliver by text and the patient has no mobile number in their file, the reminder will not be sent.
Missing email address: The same applies for email-based reminders — no email on file means the message cannot be delivered.
Resolution: Update the patient's contact information in your PMS. Once updated, the information will sync to Dental Intelligence during the next nightly sync, or you can manually trigger a patient sync from the patient card.
7. Reminders Still Sending After Appointment Cancellation or Reschedule
If a patient continues to receive reminder messages after their appointment has been cancelled or rescheduled, the most common cause is that the updated appointment status in your PMS has not synced to Dental Intelligence. TouchPoints™ are triggered based on appointment status as it appears in Dental Intelligence — if the cancellation or reschedule is not yet reflected, outbound messages will continue.
Verify the appointment status in your PMS: Confirm the appointment has been correctly marked as cancelled or rescheduled in your practice management software, not just removed from the schedule.
Allow time for the nightly sync: By default, Dental Intelligence syncs appointment data nightly. If the change was made today, it may not be reflected until after the overnight sync runs.
Check for a rescheduled original appointment: If an appointment was rescheduled rather than cancelled, the original appointment's confirmation status may still be active and triggering messages. Verify that the original appointment record has been fully updated or removed in your PMS.
Best Practices for Reminder Scheduling
To optimize patient communication through reminders, consider these best practices:
Customize Your TouchPoints™ Timeline: Ensure that you have reminders set up for multiple intervals (e.g., 7 days, 1 day, and 2 hours before the appointment) to cover varied notification needs.
Review Quiet Hours: Understand and factor in the global quiet hours when setting reminder schedules, especially for early-morning appointments.
Enable Full Communication Visibility: Always check the "Show all communication" setting in Patient Chat to view the complete history of reminders sent to patients.
Check Communication Preferences in the Patient Card: Ensure that the patient has not opted out of receiving texts and/or emails or has been Blacklisted from receiving messages from the practice.
Test Configuration Changes: Periodically review and test your notification settings to confirm they align with your practice’s communication strategy.