Who this is for: All Barti users who manage patient appointments.
Why do my settings look different from what's described here?
This article covers reminders added to each appointment individually. If your practice has moved to Text Automation, reminders come from Org Settings → Communications → Text Automation instead, and three things work differently:
Add a Reminder is no longer on the appointment's More Options menu.
Reminders don't show on the appointment. They're applied from your org settings rather than tracked per appointment.
A reminder doesn't appear in Communication → Scheduled until about an hour before it sends. An empty list doesn't mean reminders are off.
How automatic reminders work
Barti adds reminder texts automatically based on how far out an appointment is scheduled. For example:
Scheduled 2 days out — a 1-day reminder is added automatically, but NOT a 3-day reminder.
Scheduled 7+ days out — both a 1-day and a 3-day reminder are added automatically.
Important: If an appointment is rescheduled, the automatic reminders are dropped. You'll need to add them back manually using the steps below.
When to add a reminder manually
The appointment was rescheduled and the automatic reminders were dropped.
You want to send an additional reminder beyond the automatic 1-day and 3-day texts (e.g., a 7-day reminder or a cancellation policy message).
Before you start, you'll need:
A message template created in the Communication Center. See How do I use the Barti Messaging Center? if you don't have one yet.
Steps
Create or open the patient's appointment.
Click the More Options menu.
Click Add a Reminder.
Select your message template.
Choose the date and time to send the message.
Click Save Changes.
Confirm the scheduled reminder appears on the appointment.
What you'll see when it works
The scheduled reminder appears on the appointment. The message will be sent automatically at the date and time you selected.
Troubleshooting
My appointment was rescheduled — how do I know if the reminders were dropped?
When an appointment is rescheduled, automatic reminders are removed. Open the appointment and check whether any reminders are listed. If none appear, add them back manually using the steps above.
I don't see any templates to select when adding a reminder.
You'll need to create a message template first. Go to Communication Templates, create the template you want to use, then return to the appointment to add the reminder.
The reminder sent, but the patient says the appointment details were wrong.
Check the location name in Organization Settings → Locations. The location name used there appears in reminder messages — if it includes a time, an old suite number, or another outdated detail, update it. See How do I set up my profile and organization settings in Barti?.
I want to update or remove a scheduled reminder.
Currently, scheduled messages can only be deleted instead of edited/updated. To delete a reminder, click on the appointment from Calendar, then click Edit. Then click on the trash icon next to the reminder to Delete. Or follow Communication > Scheduled, then click on the three dot menu to the right of the scheduled message and select Delete.
You can also remove a reminder from the patient's profile: open the Patient Profile, select the Messages tab, find the blue "You have 1 scheduled message" banner, select it, then use the ⋯ menu next to the reminder and select Remove.