If your front desk staff has ever skipped past an important note about a patient, a balance in collections, a medication allergy, or a special billing requirement, you already know how costly that can be. The good news is that Medisoft has a built-in Patient Alerts feature designed to make sure those critical patient notes never get overlooked.
In this post, we’ll walk you through how Medisoft alerts work, how to set them up, and why they’re one of the most valuable features in the software.
What Are Medisoft Alerts?
Patient Alerts are pop-up messages that appear automatically when a staff member accesses a patient’s record in Medisoft. They can be configured to show up at specific points in your workflow, such as when scheduling an appointment, entering charges, or opening a patient chart or case.
Unlike notes buried inside a case’s comment tab, Medisoft alerts demand attention. Staff must click OK before they can proceed. If they say they didn’t see it, you will know that they still had to click through it.
WATCH: How to Set Up Patient Alerts in Medisoft
Watch this short walkthrough from a recent training session to see exactly how Patient Alerts work inside Medisoft.
The Old Way vs. the New Way
In older versions of Medisoft, if you wanted a message to pop up for a patient, you had to navigate to the patient’s Case and type the message under the Comment tab. It worked, but it had real limitations:
- You had to type the same message over and over for different patients
- There was no standardization across your team
- It was easy for staff to miss if they didn’t know to look for it
Now, Medisoft lets you create reusable, hardcoded alert codes. Build your standard messages once and apply them to any patient with a click. You can still add one-off custom messages for unique situations, but your most-used alerts are always ready to go.
How to Set Up Medisoft Patient Alerts
Step 1: Go to the Patient’s Chart
Patient Alerts are set at the chart level, not the case level. Open the patient’s chart and navigate to the Other Information tab. You’ll find the Patient Alert Codes field there.
Step 2: Create Your Alert Codes
If you don’t have any alert codes yet, right-click in the Patient Alert Codes field and select New Patient Alert Codes. You can create them right from this screen without going back to the main menu. For each alert code, you’ll set:
- Code — a short identifier (e.g., COLL for collections, ALLERGY for allergy notes)
- Description — the actual message that will pop up on screen for your staff
Step 3: Choose When the Alert Displays
For each alert code, you control exactly where in Medisoft the pop-up appears:
- New/edited appointments — shows when scheduling in Office Hours
- Transaction entry — shows when the biller enters charges
- Patient record — shows any time this patient is accessed anywhere in Medisoft
- Case — shows when the patient’s case is opened
Step 4: Add a Custom One-Off Message (Optional)
In addition to your reusable alert codes, there’s a free-form field at the bottom of the alert setup where you can type a unique message specific to that one patient. This is great for notes like “Verify insurance before each visit” or “Patient prefers afternoon appointments only.”
What Your Staff Will See
When a staff member opens a patient record with active Medisoft alerts, a pop-up window appears listing every alert for that patient. They cannot proceed until they click OK to acknowledge it. This makes it virtually impossible to miss a critical patient note, which is exactly the point.
Common Ways Practices Use Patient Alerts in Medisoft
Here are some of the most popular ways independent medical practices use Medisoft alerts day to day:
- Collections notices — flag patients with outstanding balances so front desk can collect before the visit
- Allergy reminders — surface documented allergies at the point of scheduling or check-in
- Billing notes — alert billers to special coding requirements for a specific patient
- Insurance verification reminders — prompt staff to verify coverage before scheduling. (Did you know you can automate patient eligibility verification in your Medisoft?)
- Communication preferences — note important details about how a patient prefers to be contacted
About AZCOMP Technologies
AZCOMP Technologies has been supporting independent medical practices for over 25 years. We specialize in Medisoft and Lytec practice management software, along with medical billing, IT support, cybersecurity, and patient monitoring programs. Our goal is simple: help your practice run more efficiently so you can focus on patient care.
Want to get more out of Medisoft? Our team offers one-on-one Medisoft training tailored to your practice’s workflow. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to dig into features like Patient Alerts, we’re here to help. Check out AZCOMP Academy for free recorded webinars and tutorials, or reach out to your account rep to get started.
