Sending reminders to patients who haven’t completed a questionnaire
Reminders are automatic follow-up emails sent to patients who haven’t fully completed a scheduled questionnaire. They help boost completion rates without manual chasing.
What can I do here?
- Configure 1 to 5 reminders per scheduled questionnaire.
- Choose the day offset (J+N) for each reminder relative to the scheduled date.
- Let reminders stop automatically once the questionnaire is fully completed.
How to set up reminders?
- Open the questionnaire’s Schedule section.
- Under “Send reminders if the patient does not complete the questionnaire”, click “+ Add reminder”.
- Enter N days after the scheduled date for R1 (must be ≥ 1).
- (Optional) Add R2…R5. Each must be later than the previous (R2 > R1 > …).
- Save.
Rules & behavior
- Scheduled only: For unscheduled questionnaires, the button is shown but disabled with tooltip:
“Reminders are only available for scheduled questionnaires.” - Default: No reminders are defined by default.
- Order: Reminders are ordered by day offsets (cannot be manually re-ordered).
- Limit: Max 5 reminders.
- Send logic: A reminder sends only if the questionnaire is not fully completed at send time.
- Partial completion: If partially completed, reminders are sent.
- Stops: All future reminders are canceled as soon as the questionnaire is fully completed or the questionnaire is inactivated.
- Rescheduling: Changing the scheduled date recalculates future reminders using the same day offsets (sent reminders remain in history).
- Past dates: If rescheduling puts some reminders in the past, they are not sent retroactively.
- Initial email failure: Reminders still attempt to send; standard email retry/error handling applies.
- Expiration (if used): Set the questionnaire’s expiration day ≥ last reminder day so patients can still access the form when a last reminder arrives.
What patients see
- Subject line: Same as the initial email, with a localized prefix such as “[Reminder]” (EN) or “[Rappel]” (FR).
- Email body: Identical to the initial invitation.
- If patients click a reminder after the questionnaire expired, they’ll see the expired message (if expiration is configured).
Monitoring & audit
In Monitoring > Questionnaires
- Initial send: “{Questionnaire Title}”
- Reminders: “{Questionnaire Title} (R1)”, “(R2)”, …
In the Patient eCRF Timeline
- Scheduled (future) reminders: not displayed
- Sent reminders: shown as “Reminder (R1)”, “Reminder (R2)”, …
Frequently asked questions
Can I add reminders to an unscheduled questionnaire?
No. The UI shows the button but it’s disabled. Use scheduled questionnaires to enable reminders.
What happens if I reschedule the questionnaire?
Future reminders are recalculated from the new scheduled date; past reminders remain in history.
Do reminders stop if the patient partially completes the questionnaire?
No. They stop only when the questionnaire is fully completed.
How many reminders can I set?
Between 1 and 5. After 5, you can delete one to re-enable the “+ Add reminder” button.
Can I change the email content for reminders?
No. Reminders reuse the same body as the initial email; only the subject gets the localized “[Reminder]” prefix.
Do reminders send if the initial email failed?
Yes. They follow the platform’s standard email send/retry behavior.
How should I combine reminders with expiration?
Ensure expiration ≥ last reminder day so patients can still access the questionnaire when reminded.
Troubleshooting
- I can’t click “+ Add reminder”.
- You already have 5 reminders; remove one first.
- Or the questionnaire is unscheduled.
- Validation error when entering days.
- Make sure R1 ≥ 1, and each subsequent reminder has a greater day than the previous.
- If expiration is configured, ensure it’s ≥ last reminder.