Appointment Notifications

Everything you need to know about setting appointment notification preferences

We know that patients lead busy lives and the time you set aside for medical appointments is important. That’s why we send appointment notifications to remind you of the details of your appointment, to confirm you are still able to attend, and to convey any status changes.

Click the buttons to turn notifications on or off. Be sure to expand the Appointments section to see all options and to set your preferences. For video visit appointments, expand the Telehealth section.

MyChart Communication Preferences

Your appointment notifications are based on your MyChart Communication Preferences, which means you can customize your settings to indicate the types of messages you’d like to receive, how often you receive them, and the methods. Just visit the Communication Preferences section of your MyChart account and see the examples below.

Types of automated notifications you can receive

Appointment confirmations

You can choose to receive appointment confirmations via text message or phone call, and you have the option to confirm, reschedule or cancel. Confirmations are sent three weeks, three days, and one day before an appointment. Please note that if you opt in for both text messages and phone calls, you will only receive the notification via text message. Text messages are sent between the hours of 9 AM to 6 PM ET. Phone calls are made between the hours of 9:30 AM to 8:30 PM ET.

Reminders

You can choose to receive a simple appointment reminder via email and/or text message and determine how soon before your appointment you would like to receive it (between two hours and two days before your appointment). Please note that reminders correspond to appointment times and are sent 24/7, not just during business hours. So be sure to set reminders for when you are awake.

Appointment letter

You can choose to receive a weekly overview of your scheduled appointments via email. Sent on Thursday at noon ET, the email includes arrival times, pre-appointment instructions and location information.

Appointment information

You can choose to receive notifications via email and/or text message to remind you to complete registration prior to your appointment, which will speed up check-in when you arrive for your appointment. This message will be sent seven days before your appointment, and a follow-up message will be sent one day before your appointment if no action was taken.

Status changes

When you schedule a new appointment, change an existing appointment, cancel an appointment or miss an appointment, you can choose to receive an email about any or all status changes.

Video visits

You can choose to receive a reminder specifically for video visits via email and/or text message. This message will be sent one day before your appointment. You may also receive a notification when it is time to join your video visit or if the provider is running late.

To set your preferences for video visit appointment notifications, visit the Communication Preferences section of your MyChart account and expand the Telehealth section.

FAQ

Are these automated appointment notifications available for all OhioHealth services (surgeries, physical therapy, etc.)?: At this time, no. However, this will be available in the future.
If I need to cancel my appointment, can I reply to the appointment confirmation text message or do I need to call?: If it is more than 24 hours before your appointment, you may cancel using the appointment confirmation text messages or phone calls. If it is within 24 hours of your appointment, please call your doctor’s office to cancel your appointment. You can also log into MyChart at any time to cancel or change your appointment.
If I change my phone number, how do I make sure OhioHealth has my new number?: To update your phone number in our system, just let any OhioHealth staff member (scheduling, registration, etc.) know, and they will update your information. You may also go into your MyChart account and update your phone number in the Personal Information section.
Will my phone number be used for other text messages from OhioHealth?: Unless you opt into other outreach from OhioHealth, we will not use your phone number without your permission. Check out your Communication Preferences within MyChart to understand what communications from OhioHealth you are opted into.
If I previously opted out of appointment confirmation text messages, can I opt back in?: Yes, text “START” to 833-544-1243 to opt back into these text messages (or you may text “STOP” if you wish to opt out of these text messages).

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