Appointment reminders
How LeapHealthOS sends one scheduled reminder before each appointment, how to send one by hand, and what you need to set up for reminders to reach patients.
Appointment reminders tell patients (and, if you want, staff) that an appointment is coming up. LeapHealthOS sends one scheduled reminder per appointment, automatically before the appointment. Staff can also send a reminder by hand. This page is for administrators who set reminders up and for staff who send them.
What you need for reminders to work
Both of these must be in place:
- Scheduled reminders are switched on for your organisation. Your implementation team turns them on and decides how long before the appointment the reminder goes out. This timing has no setting on a LeapHealthOS screen. Until scheduled reminders are switched on, only reminders sent by hand go out.
- A notification rule exists for Appointment Reminder. Scheduled and manual reminders both use the Appointment Reminder rule to decide who receives the message, on which channel and with which template. Without a rule, nothing is sent.
The Reminders tab in System Settings does not control reminders
SettingsPlatform ConfigurationSystem Settings has a Reminders tab with 24-Hour, 2-Hour and 30-Minute Reminder sections. Changes on this tab cannot be saved, and it has no effect on appointment reminders: there is one scheduled reminder per appointment. Set the channels and message on the Appointment Reminder notification rule, and ask your implementation team if you need the timing changed. See Notification, reminder and journey settings reference.
The scheduled reminder
A scheduled reminder is sent for each appointment that:
- is Confirmed or Checked-In when its reminder is due, and
- has not had its scheduled reminder yet.
Each appointment gets its scheduled reminder only once. Appointments that are pending approval, cancelled, completed or marked no-show are not reminded. The timing is the same for every centre in your organisation; it cannot be set per centre, doctor or service.
Set up the reminder message
Open the reminder rule
AdministratorSettings > Platform Configuration > Notification Rules
On the Organization tab, find Appointment Reminder in the Appointments group and click the edit icon.
Set up the Patient section
Pick the Channels, for example WHATSAPP, and enter the WhatsApp Template ID of your reminder template. For email, pick the Email Template and Email Identity.
Map the template's placeholders
Check the template check panel and map any missing names in Template names. Useful values are patient_name, doctor_name, centre_name, slot_date, slot_start_time and booking_reference.
Save
Click Save.
Expected result: "Rules saved". The next reminders use this rule.
To remind staff as well (for example the doctor), set up the Staff section with the RESOURCE_ASSIGNED strategy, which sends to the appointment's doctor. To use a different message at one centre, create a centre rule on the Centre tab. See Notification rules.
The reminder carries reminder_type: "Manual" for a reminder sent by hand and SCHEDULED for a scheduled one. If your template shows this value, add a Word replacement for SCHEDULED in Dates, amounts & wording, or leave it out of the template. See Templates and variables.
Send a reminder by hand
Staff can send a reminder at any time before a confirmed appointment, for example after a phone call.
Open the patient's case record
Counsellor or administratorCounselling
Open the session and go to the Case Record tab.
Find the appointment
Scroll to the upcoming appointment. The link is shown only on appointments that are Confirmed and whose start time has not passed.
Send it
Click Send Reminder.
Expected result: "Reminder sent successfully". The message goes out according to the Appointment Reminder rule.
Things to know about manual reminders:
- They do not replace the scheduled reminder. The scheduled one is still sent as usual.
- You can send more than one. Each click sends another message.
- If the appointment is no longer confirmed or checked in, you see an error and nothing is sent.
- The Send Reminder link appears only in the Case Record tab of a counselling session. It is not available from All Appointments or the front-desk screens.
Reminders and Journeys
A journey can also send reminders as part of a care pathway. Journey messages are separate from notification rules, so a patient can receive both the journey's reminder and the scheduled reminder. Decide which one you use for each kind of appointment. See Waiting, time limits and reminders.
Related pages
- Notification rules
- Templates and variables
- All Appointments and appointment statuses
- Notification, reminder and journey settings reference
Last updated on
Templates and variables
Attach WhatsApp and email templates to a notification rule, match template placeholders to event values, format dates and amounts, and add send conditions.
Alerts feed
Read the Alerts page, understand what each alert shows, and acknowledge, silence or resolve alerts so the right people are told and escalations stop.