Quick answer: Pending messages wait in Communication > Scheduled — except exam recalls, which wait in Communication > Recalls. Intake links appear as soon as you book; appointment reminders only about an hour before they send.
Who this is for: All Barti users.
When each message becomes visible
Message | When it appears | Where | How long it stays |
Intake form link | As soon as you book the appointment | Scheduled | Until 24 hours before the appointment — often days or weeks |
Appointment reminder | About 1 hour before it sends | Scheduled | About 1 hour |
Exam recall | As soon as you set it at the exam | Recalls — never Scheduled | Until it sends |
Optical order ready | When the order is marked Verified | Scheduled | About 30 minutes |
Appointment confirmation | Never — it sends immediately when you approve an appointment request | Patient's Messages tab | Not applicable |
Scheduled is a queue, not a history
Communication > Scheduled shows only messages still waiting to send. Once a message sends it leaves the list — look for it on the patient's Messages tab instead.
A pending message also doesn't appear in the patient's message thread and won't move them up your Conversations list. Above the message box you'll see a You have N scheduled messages button — a count only, with no preview.
The two that surprise people
Intake form links are visible for a long time. Barti creates the message when you book and sends it 24 hours before the appointment, so on an appointment booked a month out it sits in Scheduled for about 29 days. Nothing is created at all if you book inside 24 hours. Full detail, including what happens when you reschedule: Automated Patient Intake Form Delivery.
Appointment reminders are visible for about an hour. Reminders come from practice-wide rules, and Barti doesn't create the message until roughly an hour before it sends — so there's nothing on the appointment and nothing in Scheduled until then. An empty list does not mean reminders are off. Full detail: How do I configure new automated appointment reminders in Barti?.
These two work in opposite ways in the same list, which is worth knowing before you go looking for a message.
Troubleshooting
A scheduled message disappeared — what happened?
It almost certainly sent. Scheduled holds only messages still waiting to go out. Check the patient's Messages tab to see the outcome.
I booked an appointment but don't see the intake message
Check these in order: Is the appointment more than 24 hours away? Are you filtering Scheduled to a single appointment — intake messages are excluded from those results. Does the appointment type have an intake form linked? Did the patient complete an intake in the last 90 days? Do they have a valid mobile number?
I can't find or remove the reminder for one appointment
Reminders aren't visible until about an hour before they send, and they don't appear on the appointment. Change the rule in Organization Settings > Communications, or cancel the message from Scheduled during that final hour.
The patient never got a confirmation text
Confirmations only send when you approve an appointment request, with the Send appointment confirmation text message checkbox left checked. Booking an appointment yourself on the calendar or from a patient profile does not send one, and neither does rescheduling. You can send a confirmation manually from the patient's Messages tab.
The message says Sent — does that mean the patient got it?
Not necessarily. On the patient's thread and Messages tab, Sent covers messages that were queued, accepted, sent, or delivered. Only Communication > Recalls shows confirmed delivery, and only for recalls. Status can also lag a few minutes behind the carrier.