Patient Reminder Setup

Patient Reminders in VetView will be sent out to clients after a set period of time has passed to inform them that it is time to schedule an annual appointment, refill an item such as heartworm preventatives, or have a follow up to a procedure performed.  These are different from Schedule Reminders which are sent out based on scheduled appointments.  Patient Reminders can be set to generate based off single products, entire product lines, or Catalog items.

Product Reminders also have an Internal flag, that allows you to send a reminder within your unit as a follow up when a product is added to a bill.  For example, if bacteria culture was ordered, an internal reminder can be set to check the lab results in one week, and then follow up with the customer.  

VetView's Patient Reminders use a template system to allow you to build the fundamentals of a reminder one time, and use it to create reminders based on a variety of different products, without having to set up the emails and timers more than once.  Patient Reminders also use an auto-combine system to add in patients and products to a single email, to avoid spamming your clients with multiple emails when more than one patient has a reminder due.   Patient Reminders also allow you to use the Reminders Worklist as a telephone callback worksheet. 

How do I make a new Reminder Formatting Template?

Reminder Setup is accessed under Navigation > Hospital Setup Data > Reminder Setup.

The tab Template Setup allows you to build a basic set of templates for your different types of reminders.  A postcard reminder may look different from an email or callback reminder, so we recommend that you set up at least one of each type, and consider the different lengths you will need.  

Click on the Add New Record to start making a new reminder.

Enter in the name of the reminder, and the method for communication.  To avoid confusion, also consider entering this as the Reminder Type Name.

You will also need to enter in values for "Combine Reminders Within" and "Auto Send."  (Auto Send primarily applies to email reminders but the value is still required.)

For the text of the reminder, you can include Placeholders to pull in information about the client and the patient.  The placeholder [REMINDER_TEXT] will pull in the patient and product information.  The specific text can be controlled by going to the Localization codes listed at the bottom.

The first localization code is the default VetView placeholder for the Reminder Text.  The second localization code displayed is a custom value you can set via Localization, specific to this Template.  For example, you can have a localization code that includes the address and phone number of the department that the clients should contact to schedule an appointment, if they will be unique for all reminders created with this template.  This prevents you from having to type out this information on ever single reminder.

How do I create a new Product Reminder Template?

Under the Reminder Setup tab, click on Add New Template.  This will load the Reminder page.

Enter in the name of the Reminder you are creating, and choose from the available Formatting Templates you set up under the Template tab.

When you have finished filling out the text, click on Save to add the Reminder. 

The page will reload, and you can start filling in the other attributes associated with the Reminder.

How do I associate a product or a product line to a reminder?

Patient Reminders in VetView can be automatically generated as soon as a product is added to the Patient Orders.  

Click on "Add Product / Product Line" to open up a window that will allow you to select the product.

You can center the product Line and Sequence number, or you can start typing in a keyword to see a list of matching products.  Products with alternate ID / synonyms will bring up matches as well.  For example, one hospital has "heartgard" linked to all ivermectin products, so searching for the word will bring it up.

A reminder can be linked to as many individual products as you want.  

If your hospital's Line numbers have been set up to include specific categories of products, you can link to that entire line rather than adding individual products.

Make Default means that the product will appear on the patient order with the Reminder turned on.  You can use this for products that should always generate a reminder.  If Make Default is not turned on for a product, then the reminder will appear at the bottom of the patient bill toggled off instead.  This gives the clinician the option to include the reminder, or to leave it off.  Reminders that were turned on by default can also be turned off from the patient order in the same manner.  

How do I associate a catalog item to a reminder?

Reminders don't only have to be associated with inventory or billing products.  We have built the Reminder system to tie into services via the catalog item.  For example, a Surgery Report can generate a reminder to come back in two weeks to have the stitches removed.  

Click on Add Catalog / Catalog Item in the window that says Catalog Items that Trigger This Reminder

A small window will appear to allow you to select a specific Catalog Item, or a more general Catalog.  

If the reminder should default to be triggered on the bill, turn on Make Default. 

If the reminder should be visible on the bill and available to turn on, but not automatically triggered, keep off Make Default.

Click on the Save button to add the catalog item or catalog to the reminder.  A product or service will needed to be enter to Satisfy the reminder when placed on a bill, such as a follow up visit exam fee or suture removal.

How do I format the response that should be sent in an email or a post card?

VetView's Reminder system allows you to build a custom email template for each type of Reminder.  With Rich Text formatting, you can include bold, italic, and colored text in the email body.  You can also create plain text that can be exported to Excel.

The template also uses VetView's Placeholder Text to pull in information.  The most important of these is the [REMINDER_TEXT] placeholder, which will pull in detailed itemized information about the patient name and the product that is due, as well as the specific due date.  Other place

The [REMINDER_TEXT] placeholder can be further customized under Localization, using the code reminder.text.placeholder.default

You can also add a specific placeholder text unique to each Reminder Template by looking up the code displayed underneath it.  Changing the default Reminder Localization or adding in a special custom placeholder code is optional.  Please contact VetView if you need additional help with customizing the localization codes.

How do I build a list intended to be exported to Excel for a Mail Merge?

For long term reminders that will be sent out via a post card or a letter, use the Post Card communication method.  This allows you to search on the Reminders Worklist screen and build out a list of all the reminders intended to be mailed out in the next time period, such as one month.

On the worklist, select the type of Post Card and click on the Export to CSV button to create a comm separated file which can be opened in Excel or another spreadsheet program.

Once exported, you can Update Reminder Status for these reminders to indicate they were completed. 

How do I ensure that multiple reminders are not sent out to clients too closely together?

To avoid spamming your clients with similar emails, the Reminders system in VetView can automatically combine any reminders that use the same Formatting Template within the time period that you specify.

This means that patients who belong to the same client will have all of their Reminders for those patients sorted into a single email, so long as the due date is within the time period specified for Combine Reminders Within and the flag is set to Auto Combine.  

This feature is very useful for your clients who prefer to schedule their patient appointments on the same day or even the same time for multiple pets.

The [REMINDER_TEXT] will appear as bullet points containing the information, similar to as follows:

• Fluffy is due for Annual Wellness Visit on 9/15/2020
• Caroline is due for Annual Wellness Visit on 9/16/2020
• Yennefer is due for Annual Wellness Visit on 9/17/2020

When the first reminder due is triggered, all subsequent reminders that are combined will also be marked as Complete, and will not need to be sent again. 

How do I know if I should set a reminder to internal?

If you are using the Reminders system to generate a call back list or a list of reminders you want to manually review before sending, you can set the reminder to Internal.  This allows the reminder to appear on the Reminder Worklist, but will not send an email automatically.