Prescription Refill Reminders: A Complete Guide

Introduction

50% prescriptions are not taken as directed, leading to not just poor health outcomes for the patient, but also increased healthcare costs for providers. This is where prescription refill reminders take center stage, helping reduce non-adherence, high readmission rates, costs, and other severe consequences.

Keep reading as we discuss:

• Meaning of prescription refill reminders and how the process works
• Meaning of medication non-adherence, its impact, and how prescription refill reminders help
• Benefits of the refill reminder system
• Channels for sending patient refill notifications
• Strategies & best practices to send renew prescription texts
• And more!

What are Prescription Refill Reminders?

Prescription refill reminders are alerts sent to patients via SMS, email, or phone call, notifying them that their medication supply is running low and prompting them to restock in advance. These reminders are typically sent in a sequence, seven days, three days, and one day before the medication runs out. Implementing a pharmacy refill reminder system is crucial due to high non-adherence rates and the serious consequences this can have for both patients and providers. Before exploring these consequences, let’s look at how prescription reminders work.

How it Works?

Here’s a quick step-by-step process of how pharmacy refill reminder system works:

Step 1: Collecting patient prescription data

The process begins when a patient is prescribed for the first time. The pharmacist or healthcare provider records key details in their EHR/CRM or Pharmacy record management system:

• Name & contact
• Medication name, dosage, and refill frequency
• Prescription start and end date
• Number of refills allowed
• Prescribing physician details

Step 2: Integrating with medication refill reminder app

Pharmacies can integrate the patient communication tool that they are using with their PMS/EHR. These systems store prescription and patient data and automatically schedule reminders based on the medication’s refill cycle. 

Step 3: Scheduling refill reminders

Once the system identifies an upcoming refill, it automatically generates a series of refill reminders. This is how the sequence typically looks:

• 1 reminder: Sent 5–7 days before the refill due date
• 2nd reminder: Sent 2-3 days before the due date
• Final Reminder: On or just after the due date

The frequency, channel, and message can be customized. 

Step 4: Message personalization

The prescription refill reminder message is customized with the patient’s name, medication, pharmacy name, contact, and CTA. Here’s what a refill reminder message could look like:

“Hi John, your refill for your blood pressure medication is due this week. Reply YES to confirm or call 555-1234.”

Step 5: Multi-channel message delivery

Reminders can be sent through one or more communication channels, including SMS, AI voice or chatbot, IVR call, email, etc., depending on the patient’s preference. 

Step 6: Patient response

Many modern medication adherence software offer two-way texting, allowing patients to confirm refills without typing an entire message. For example:

• Reply YES to get a refill
• Reply NO to skip

You can even add a link to provide an online refill. 

Step 7: Pharmacy system integration & update

Once the patient approves or disapproves of the refill request, it gets updated in your EHR/PMS automatically. Upon approval:

• The pharmacist verifies the message, prescription, stock, etc. 
• Refill is then processed. 
• Patient receives confirmation text that their refill is ready for pick up.

When communicating all this information, it is essential to use a HIPAA-compliant refill reminder software, so always choose a compliant provider. 

What about Inbound Prescription Refill Calls?

Healthcare practices receive 20-40% calls that are related to prescription refills, and all of these calls are more or less repetitive in nature, where you ask the patient their name, provider name, dosage, etc. By implementing an AI agent, you can automate and fulfill inbound prescription refill requests.. 

Use of AI is in Refill Collection Automation

Ditch the old way of collecting patient info. Modern AI agents are not only sending reminders; today, they can collect refill information and act on it.

The way this works is that inbound refill calls that traditionally hit front-desk staff are routed to an AI agent, which:

• Verifies patient identity (name, DOB) in real time against the EMR (e.g., Athena)
• Records preferred pharmacy, dosage, and frequency
• Automatically creates a case or request in the EMR, or routes the request to the pharmacy (including leaving a voicemail when necessary)
• And determines when a follow-up visit or provider approval is required.

AI in pharmacies can automate roughly 80% of refill requests and reduce front-desk call volume by around 40%, freeing staff for higher-value patient care.

Watch this interesting video to see in what all ways AI agents can help pharmacies today. 

What is Medication Non-Adherence

Medication non-adherence happens when patients don’t take their medications as prescribed, be it by skipping or stopping doses, taking incorrect doses, or failing to refill on time. To understand just how important refill reminders can be, look at these stats:

• Up to 30–40% of patients never refill their first prescription.
• For patients with chronic conditions, adherence rates often fall below 60% within six months of starting therapy.
• The CDC reports that non-adherence leads to 125,000 preventable deaths and 10% of hospitalizations each year in the U.S.

The Impact of Medication Non-Adherence

The impact of medication non-adherence can be catastrophic. Take a look at how deeply this can affect patients:

• Disease progression: When chronic patients do not adhere to medications, it can worsen their health and can even lead to death. 
• Increased hospitalization: Reports show that patients with poor adherence are 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalized than adherent patients. 
• High mortality rates: Non-adherence is directly linked to high mortality rates, especially in cardiovascular and transplant patients. 
• Economic burden: Non-adherence increases overall treatment costs by 30–50% per patient per year, leading to $100–$300 billion annually. 

Impact of Prescription Refill Reminders

As a pharmacist, you can lower this impact by making your patients more involved in their care that too by simply sending them reminders and educating them on how important it is to adhere to treatment medications. 

Here’s the positive impact that a pharmacy refill reminder system can lead to:

• Patients are less likely to forget their medications when they receive refill reminders.
• Regular reminders can help patients manage their medications more effectively, leading to better health outcomes.
• Involving caregivers or family members can further improve treatment adherence rates. 

Benefits of Sending Automated Medication Refill Reminders

Here are the top benefits of sending automated medication refill reminders:

Increases Prescription Refill Rates & Revenue

Missed online medication refills can lead to missed sales opportunities, impacting revenue. You can turn this around by implementing a prescription reminder software and sending recurring prescription reminders. Think about it, patients with chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes, etc., require ongoing medicines, and they can provide you with recurring business if patients refill on time. In fact, research published in Patient Preference and Adherence (Dovepress, 2020) proves that patient reminder calls increased cumulative refill rates by 22.8% within 14 days. 

Reduces Workload & Errors for Pharmacy Staff

Tracking each patient’s prescription and sending refill reminders manually can be time-consuming and even prone to errors. However, there are many automation tools like Emitrr that offer SMS refill reminders and voice call refill reminders that can help you achieve the results while reducing workload. Pharmacy staff don’t need to make dozens of calls or feel burnt out. The system automatically sends reminders 3–5 days before due dates. 

Improves Medication Adherence in Patients

A study shows nearly 50% of chronic disease patients don’t take medications as prescribed. Missed medications can lead to treatment failure, patient readmissions, or loss of revenue for your pharmacy. This is where the automated refill reminder system comes in. A diabetic patient who receives a refill reminder 3 days before their medication runs out is more likely to skip their dose. Hence, automated reminders ensure patients remember to refill on time, reducing the chances of missing doses. 

Improves Pharmacy Performance Metrics

PBMs and Insurers are more likely to offer performance-based incentives to pharmacies that have high adherence rates. Additionally, Pharmacies that are involved in value-based programs, such as Medicare Star Ratings, can also benefit from high adherence scores. Your refill reminders can have a high impact on patient adherence and help you improve your performance metrics and achieve performance-based incentives. 

Ensures Better Inventory Planning

Last-minute medication stockouts and rushes can lead to a poor impression on the patient and management hiccups. Predictable refill patterns can help you identify when your patients usually ask for refills and help you forecast and maintain medicine stocks. This can help you reduce last-minute stockouts and help you optimize your inventory supply as well. 

Improves Patient Retention Rate

When you send consistent prescription refill reminders to your patients, your patients feel cared for, making them less likely to switch pharmacists. A medication refill reminder app like Emitrr helps you send personalized patient refill notifications, which helps patients see you as a part of their care team rather than a transactional service provider.

Helps Support Regulatory Compliance

HIPAA-compliant refill reminder software can help support regulatory compliance and meet pharmacy standards for patient care. Yes, pill reminders can be HIPAA-compliant and can also be integrated with your pharmacy EHR system. As a pharmacist, you can use a HIPAA-compliant refill reminder software to get the desired results while also ensuring privacy and patient consent.  

Channels for Sending Prescription Refill Reminders

One of the best things about sending online prescription refill reminders is that you can do so via multiple channels or via your preferred channel. 

SMS/Text Messaging

Among all channels, SMS has the highest open rate and is one of the best ways to send medicine reminders. SMS refill reminders can be personalized, are fast, and can be automated by setting up an SMS campaign as well. Emitrr is one of the most liked SMS software for sending HIPAA-compliant and recurring prescription reminders. 

How it works?

Automated text reminders are sent to patients a few days before their refill is due. They can include quick action options like “Reply YES to refill” or a link to confirm online. 

Automated Voice Calls

Automated voice calls via IVR can be another great way of sending reminders for prescription refills, especially if you have elderly patients. These systems reduce staff time on making manual phone calls and also ensure accessibility for patients who are less comfortable with text or email. 

How it works:

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems call patients with a pre-recorded or AI-generated reminder message. Patients can confirm or request refills directly via keypad options.

AI Messaging Systems/Chatbots

AI-powered messaging or chatbots are another powerful way to automate refill reminders. This channel is great because it helps reduce incoming call queues, handle refill requests 24/7 in multiple languages, and provides instant responses for FAQs related to store hours, delivery status, and insurance info etc. 

How it works:

Integrated AI-powered chatbots on websites or messaging apps send automated reminders to process refill requests.

Mobile Apps

For tech-savvy patients, a mobile app can be the most convenient way to receive prescription pickup notifications. These apps offer a centralized experience where patients can manage all their prescriptions in one place with push notification reminders. 

How it works:

Patients receive push notifications through a pharmacy app or web portal. They can request refills, review prescriptions, or chat with a pharmacist directly.

How Online Medication Refill Reminders Improve Patient Outcomes

Missed refills can lead to treatment failure, hospital readmission, and increased healthcare costs, and this is exactly where medication refill reminders can improve patient outcomes.

• Automated refill reminders can improve adherence by addressing a major barrier: forgetfulness. As per a 2021 study in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, it was found that SMS refill reminders improved adherence rate by up to 25% among chronic disease patients.
• In the U.S., non-adherence is the cause of 125,000 preventable deaths, and 10% of hospitalizations annually. Reminders help lower readmission rates for discharged patients and reduce emergency room visits. 
• For patients with chronic conditions, recurring refill reminders help in creating consistency and routine, and reinforce accountability to maintain long-term control. 
• Regular prescription refill reminders create a touchpoint between the patient and provider, helping them feel cared for. This promotes trust and increases the likelihood of patient completing their treatment. 

Strategies for Sending Effective Medication Refill Reminders

The most effective medication refill reminder combines a mix of personalized communication, implementing a tech-driven solution, and seeking external support. 

Use two-way messaging

Offering patients the option to reply back can help improve refill rates. Implement two-way texting and allow action prompts like, “Reply YES to refill.” Look for the best medication reminder app that also integrates with your PMS so that confirmations update your patient records automatically. 

Automate with smart systems

If you do not want to overload yourself or your pharmacy team with all these tasks, then automation is the key for you. Use tools like Emitrr, Updox, Well, etc., to automate reminders or to send trigger-based reminders based on expiration, missed doses, or pickup delays. 

Offer easy refill options

Easy refill options can considerably improve medication adherence. So offer text-based confirmations, app notifications, online portals, direct refill links, etc., to simplify the refill process for your patients and to improve medicine adherence rate. 

Personalize reminders based on patient data

Your patients may have different communication preferences. Some may prefer SMS, some emails, and others phone calls. We recommend implementing an omnichannel reminder system that integrates all three for maximum reach.

Educate patients

Medication non-adherence, as discussed before, can have severe consequences; hence, it is essential to educate your patients as to why completing their dosage is important, what the consequences of skipping or leaving it are, etc.  

Involve family members

Try to include the patient’s family member to ensure your patient takes medications on time and does not skip them, especially if the patient is stubborn about their treatment. 

Best Practices For Implementing Refill Reminders

In order to get the best out of your medication reminder app, here are a few points you can keep in mind:

Use multiple channels for sending medicine reminders

Use different communication channels for sending medicine reminders to patients, including:

• SMS for immediate & recurring refill reminders
• Phone calls for elderly patients 
• IVR for smart outreach and time saving
• Emails for more detailed info and link sharing

Use an automated prescription reminder app

One of the best ways to utilise all the above-discussed communication channels is by using an automated prescription reminder app like Emitrr. With Emitrr, you can set up automated SMS campaigns with two-way texting, and you can tag these SMS so that they go directly to your pharmacy department. You can even use an AI SMS chatbot and an AI voice agent to automate prescription refill alerts.  

Set up a consistent reminder schedule

Recurring reminders are essential to remind patients to take their medications on time and to create a sense of urgency in them. Hence, you should set refill reminders based on the patient’s medication schedule and ensure these reminders are sent on the right schedule every time, for example, a week before they run out, followed by another reminder three days before, and so on. 

Use SMS templates for prescription refill reminders

Sending customized SMS to all your patients can be a time-consuming job. Hence, you should use refill reminder templates for pharmacies to keep the messages customized while still ensuring no time is wasted. 

By implementing these best practices for sending refill reminders, pharmacists can ensure medication adherence without overburdening themselves with extra work. 

Why is Emitrr the Best Prescription Reminder Software?

Emitrr is one of the best pharmacy software apps that you can choose. It is ideal not just for sending refill alerts and reminders but also for two-way communication, VoIP communication, pharmacy online scheduling, pharmacy review and reputation management, and more. However, if your use case is specific to sending prescription reminders, then here are the top reasons why you should choose Emitrr:

Smart AI Agent

Also receive a lot of prescription refill calls? Emitrr offers a robust AI agent that takes those calls, collects necessary information, such as patient name, DOB, dosage, pharmacy, etc., and collects the prescription refill request pretty much just how a human would. The best part? If a refill requires provider approval, the AI intelligently checks your EHR and informs the patient to contact their provider first.

Multi-Channel Messaging

Emitrr offers it all: two-way texting, a VoIP phone system, a website chatbot, AI voice agent, and more, so that you can send those prescription alerts to your patients via the channel they prefer most. By choosing Emitrr, you can keep all your communication in one place without changing providers 

Excellent Integration with Pharmacy Systems

Emitrr, the best HIPAA-compliant reminder system for pharmacists, goes nicely with most leading pharmacy management and EHR systems. Whether you’re using PioneerRx or other pharmacy tools, Emitrr ensures your workflows stay smooth. By syncing patient data and automating messaging based on triggers like refills or appointments, it saves staff time and reduces human error.

Customizable Refill SMS Templates

You can build a library of pre-approved messages for common tasks like refill notifications, holiday hours, or wellness tips. These templates save time, ensure consistency, and reduce human error in patient communication.

HIPAA-Compliant Instant Messaging

Emitrr encrypts all communication end-to-end and includes role-based access control to protect patient data. It also logs message history in audit-ready formats, supporting full traceability for compliance audits.

AI-Driven Efficiency

Emitrr’s AI replies to patient texts within seconds and creates fast, accurate, and efficient responses in seconds. Smart algorithms create roll-up replies and then use AI tuning to refine tone and tenor so these first responses are crisp, caring, and applicable. The rule engine and Sarah filtering let you make intelligent decisions on routing replies from dedicated teams of staff, so your teams stay organized and focused.

Take a look at what more Emitrr AI SMS agent can do:

Mobile & Desktop Access

Emitrr offers seamless access on both mobile and desktop platforms, enabling pharmacy staff to respond to messages from anywhere. Whether at the front counter or on a break, pharmacists can manage communication without disruption.

Delivery Tracking & Read Receipts

Emitrr provides real-time delivery confirmation and read receipts, so pharmacies know exactly when a patient has received or opened a message. This eliminates the guesswork from communication and helps ensure follow-ups are timed effectively.

Voicemail Drop and Call Forwarding

Beyond texting, Emitrr includes integrated phone features like voicemail drop (pre-recorded voicemail messages) and smart call forwarding. These features enable a truly unified communication experience from a single platform.

Feedback and Review Requests

After a service or prescription pick-up, Emitrr can automatically send messages asking for feedback or reviews. This helps pharmacies improve services while also boosting their online presence.

Affordable and Scalable

Emitrr is extremely cost-effective. You don’t need enterprise-level funds to get enterprise-level features. Emitrr is priced in a way that works for everyone, from independent pharmacies to growing chains. It is highly scalable, which means that when your business grows, Emitrr grows too.

FAQs

Conclusion

Sending prescription refill reminders is crucial to ensure low re-admission rates, low cost, and to improve patient outcomes, among others. For this, the best strategy is to use a HIPAA-compliant refill reminder software like Emitrr that allows you to send refill alerts via multiple channels, be it SMS, VoIP, or even an AI chatbot and voicebot. 

What’s best is that Emitrr is affordable, highly loved by pharmacists and healthcare providers, and is ideal for communication within your entire healthcare team. Book a free demo, talk to our experts, and see it for yourself.