🎞️ View video tutorial: Customizing patient notifications
You can customize the default template for your email and SMS notifications (Settings > Notifications). The template includes the base text and any variables sent in your patient communications. This article describes all the available variables you can add to your notification templates.
For more information, refer to Customizing notification templates.
Variables for all notification types
Pulls information from the patient chart, or your clinic details into the template.
Patient Identification
Patient Title
Patient First Name
Patient Last Name
Patient Full Name
Business Name (your clinic name, not the location name)
Referred Provider
Ordering Provider (should only be used for incoming referral notifications)
Variables for Appointment notifications
Variable | Description |
Patient Actions | Used for email templates. For SMS, use the Appointment Actions variable.  Includes links to:
 |
Appointment Actions | Acts the same as Patient Actions but is used for SMS templates. |
Location Information | Includes your clinic details directly in the message, along with the address and a Google map. Pulls from the location that the appointment is booked at. If the location is virtual, nothing shows.  This can also be enabled or disabled by appointment type. For more information, go to Displaying your clinic address and map on appointment notifications. |
Reminder Message | A unique message that you configure for each scheduled appointment type reminder (Settings > Scheduling > Appointment Type > specific appointment type > Reminder). For more information, go to Customizing appointment reminders for an appointment type.
This variable is available for all Appointment Notifications, but should only be used for Appointment Reminders, since they are the only ones you can configure a reminder message for. If you do not configure a Reminder Message, nothing shows.  |
All variables for appointment and practitioner information | Pulls data from the linked appointment to populate your template.
For example, Practitioner Last Name populates the appointment provider's last name and the Appointment Reason pulls the presenting issue for the appointment.
Also available for Virtual Visit notifications. |
Variables for sending Qnaire notifications
Variable Type | Description |
Start Qnaire Button | Inserts a link to open the patients' Qnaires. |
Qnaire List | A list of the names of the Qnaires sent with the notification.
Example:  |
Qnaire Count | The number of linked Qnaires the patient is required to complete. 📌 Note: It does not count all of the patient Qnaires, only the ones connected with the notification.
Example:  |
Variables for Referral notifications
Variable Type | Description |
Referral Accepted Message | Only available for the Referral Request Accepted notification.
The content of the variable is: We have accepted your referral to be seen by <referred_provider> from <ordering_provider>. |
Referral Received Message | Only available for the Referral Request Received notification.
The content of the variable is: We have received a referral for you from <ordering_provider> and have added you to our waitlist. |
Variables for CHR Connect and Patient Portal notifications
Variable Type | Description |
Read Message | Only available for the Portal Notification > Message Notification.
Inserts a link to access the message sent via the patient portal. |
One Time Password | The security passcode required to access a patient portal message (not the passcode required for Virtual Visits).
If you add it to a template that doesn't use a password, it shows as #one_time_password_template in the notification.
💡 Tip: You can set if the passcode is required to open the message. For more information, refer to Enabling and customizing the patient portal. |
Variables for Pathway notifications
Variable Type | Description |
Virtual Visit Instructions | Shows the following instructions for the patient to access the virtual visit.  💡 Tip: You cannot customize these instructions. If you want to customize the instructions, you need to remove the variable and use free text in the notification template. |
Virtual Visit Actions | Includes a link and the password for the patient to access their Virtual Visit.  |
All variables for appointment and practitioner information | Only available for Pathway and Appointment notification types.
Pulls data from the linked appointment to populate your template.
For example, Practitioner Last Name populates the appointment provider's last name and the Appointment Reason pulls the presenting issue for the appointment. |
Variables for Billing notifications
Variable Type | Description |
Billing Actions | Only available for clinics using CHR Connect.
Inserts a link to open a newly created invoice on CHR Connect. |
Updated December 11, 2024