Frequently Asked Questions

Here are questions commonly asked by our customers:

What does Talksoft offer?

Talksoft is an easy-to-use, automated reminder call service that places calls, text messages and/ or emails to your patients for a variety of services

What Practice Management Systems are compatible with RemindMe?

RemindMe is compatible with any system that can produce a delimited ASCII file containing the date and time of appointment and the patent's phone number. A majority of scheduling software systems have this simple functionality built already - Talksoft reads this exported file and uses it to make reminder calls.

What will my patients hear when they receive reminder calls?

Once you have signed up for RemindMe Service, the first step is to call our automated system to record your custom greeting. One example, might be the following message, which could be recorded in your voice... "Hello, this is Grace from Dr. Jones office calling to remind you of your upcoming appointment. If you need a referral, please remember to bring it with you. If you have any questions, we can be reached Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm at (215) 555 1212." Your patients hear that message and then it is immediately followed by a professionally recorded voice stating the date and time of the appointment, and optionally the name of the patient and a confirmation prompt. For example, "The appointment is for Michael on Monday, May 21 at 9:30 am. To confirm the appointment, press 1. If you need to reschedule, press 2. ... Thanks, and we look forward to seeing you!"

If a patient answers the phone and says "hello" the message immediately begins to play. If an answering machine or voice mail system pick up, the system waits for the tone, or beep, and leaves the message. In both cases your business's Caller ID is displayed for the patient to see.

For healthcare practices, are all communications HIPAA/HITECH secure?

All aspects of what Talksoft do are set up to ensure that HIPAA/HITECH are being adhered to on a continuing basis. Talksoft presents a signed HITECH document to all new clients and does not begin until the agreement is signed.

What data is retrieved from my system and sent to Talksoft?

The required pieces of information are the following: patient's name, phone number, and date and time of the appointment. Optional information for advanced services include: email address, preferred language, appointment location (if there are multiple), Doctor or Provider (if there are multiple) and appointment type (calls can be customized to change for different appointment types).

Can I have patients confirm appointments when they receive their reminder call?

Yes. You can set up your system to prompt a patient to confirm or reschedule their appointment. This option can be turned on or off if needed. The result is shown on your daily activity report. You can also choose to have all reschedule requests immediately e-mailed to you for prompt filling of the empty appointment slot. This feature is also available for all lines of communication - phone, text and email.

What happens if the patient's phone is busy or there is no answer when the reminder call is placed?

If the phone number is busy or there is no answer, RemindMe will re-try the call at a later time, specified by you during set up. The total number of attempts per day and the time between attempts can be customized.

What happens if the reminder call is answered by voice mail or by an answering machine?

RemindMe can detect whether the call was answered by a person or by an automated answering service (ie. voicemail, answering machine). If an answering machine picks up, RemindMe 'waits for the beep', then leaves your message. If your system is set up to collect a confirmation from the patient, it will not be collected if an answering machine is detected.

What happens when the reminder call is answered by a person when reminder call is placed?

If a person answers, RemindMe waits until the person is finished saying 'hello', and then begins speaking your message. Your business's Caller ID is displayed on the phone - this increases the likelihood that your client will answer the call.

What happens if I stop transmitting appointments? Will calls stop?

In order for RemindMe to process reminders for the most up-to-date data in your scheduling system, it is important that you transmit appointments every day. If you do not transmit appointments, calls will be placed based on the appointment information most recently transmitted.

Is my data secure?

Yes. Your data is securely transmitted over the internet using 1024 bit RSA encryption. Once the data reaches Talksoft, our servers employ firewalls to protect it from intruders. Additionally, your data is encrypted via SSL (secure sockets layer) when you view it on this site.

Is anything installed on my computer to use the service?

No software is installed on your computer. All information is uploaded, received, and viewed online. In some cases, an interface is established with the Practice Management System.

Can I check the outcome status of my phone, text, and/or email messages?

Yes, you are able to see the results of all messages by logging into the Talksoft portal to view the results. This can be done from any PC by using your secure log in credentials. You can view a sample outcome report by clicking here.

My patients say they haven't received any automated reminder calls. What happened?

There are several possible reasons for this. Check the following:

• Have you been putting all of your appointments into your scheduling system, complete with correct patient phone numbers?
• Have you been transmitting appointments on a daily basis?
• Is your connection to the Internet (high-speed or dial-up) working properly? (Trying to access www.talksoftonline.com in your browser is a good test)
• The patients who have not received calls may not have answered their phone or their line may have been busy for an extended time.

Will my patients get multiple calls if I transmit the same appointments more than once?

No. The software will only call any particular phone number once per appointment. If you re-transmit appointments, the new data will replace the old data that is on the Talksoft servers.

What do I do if I get an email suggesting my transmission is overdue?

It is important to transmit your appointments every day. We remind you if we don't receive a file for a specified period of time, as it is important we have the most up-to-date appointment data.

I would like to change our message recording. How do I do so?

Sign into our customer portal and select "messages" under RemindMe. Follow the on-screen instructions to re-record your message. Please notify us when new messages are recorded so they can become live.

I forgot how to upload my data file. Can you provide me with the instructions?

Please contact us with the name of your scheduling or practice management system and we can send you the personalized instructions you need.

I am missing information in my Activity Report. How can I find it?

Please be sure to select the appropriate appointment date or call date. Try our advanced search feature to find specific patients, phone numbers and call outcomes- including information about confirmations and need to reschedule.

Do you offer any services besides the appointment reminders?

Yes, a full list of our services can be found under the Services tab. They include Broadcast for snow days, location changes, or other announcements and Recall to bring patients back that you haven't seen in a while.