Filters

Filters decide who an automation applies to after the trigger event occurs.
They narrow your audience so only the right patients receive the message — for example, reminders for in-person visits only or follow-ups for specific providers.

If no filters are added, the automation applies to all patients who meet the trigger conditions.

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How Filters Work

When the trigger event fires (e.g., an appointment is created), the system checks all filters before sending the message or performing the action.
Only records that match every active filter move forward.

Each filter lets you include or exclude certain records:

• Include using operators like “Is equal to” or “Contains.”

• Exclude using “Is not equal to” or “Does not contain.”

💡 Tip: You can combine multiple filters for precision — for example, “Only send to In-Person appointments with Dr. Patel at the Downtown Clinic.”

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Available Filters

Appointment Status

Limits automations to certain appointment statuses in your EMR.
Use this to avoid sending messages for cancelled or completed visits.

Examples:

• Include: Is equal to → Booked

• Exclude: Is not equal to → Cancelled

OSCAR notes:

• Common codes: t (To Do), h (Held), C (Confirmed).

• Include suffixes like S and V (e.g., tS, tV) to catch signed/verified charts.

Accuro notes:

• Use BLANK for newly scheduled appointments (no default status).

• Combine multiple codes with commas (e.g., BLANK, C, B).

Accuro nuance (important for status-based workflows)

In Accuro, status changes by themselves may not always generate an update event that Phelix can listen to. So an automation that relies on “Appointment Updated” may not run if the only change was the appointment status.

How to handle this:
Use a timed Appointment automation (Pre or Post) as the trigger, then use Appointment Status as a filter. When the timed automation runs, Phelix pulls the latest appointment details from the EMR and applies your status filter at that moment.

This pattern is useful for any workflow that depends on a status being present at a point in time (for example: Confirmed, Cancelled, No Show, Arrived, etc.).

Example:
To contact No Shows:

• Trigger: Post-Appointment Reminder (for example, 30–60 minutes after the appointment time)

• Filter: Appointment Status = No Show

• Action: Send SMS / Email / Create Task

To send instructions only to confirmed appointments:

• Trigger: Pre-Appointment Reminder (for example, 2 days before)

• Filter: Appointment Status = Confirmed

• Action: Send instructions

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Appointment Type

Filters automations based on how the visit will occur — In-Person, Phone, or Virtual.
This helps you customize communication for each visit format.

Examples:

• Include: Is equal to → Virtual (send video prep link)

• Exclude: Is not equal to → Phone (skip phone visits)

⚙️ Where to find these in EMR:

• OSCAR: Administration → Schedule Management → Appointment Type List

• Accuro: Scheduler → Management → Types Tab

Appointment types are case-sensitive — ensure they match your EMR exactly.

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Appointment Reason

Targets automations by the reason for visit — useful for reminders or instructions that vary by procedure.

Examples:

• Is equal to → Bloodwork (send fasting instructions)

• Contains → Consult (send referral prep message)

• OSCAR: “Reason” field in appointment details

• Accuro: Scheduler → Management → Reasons Tab

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Appointment Notes

Checks for keywords in appointment notes.
Perfect for custom workflows like sending additional forms if the note contains “New Patient” or “Immunization.”

Examples:

• Contains → Referral

• Is not equal to → Follow-up

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Provider / Physician

Restricts automations to specific doctors or excludes certain providers.

Examples:

• Is equal to → Dr. Smith (send reminders only for Dr. Smith’s patients)

• Is not equal to → Locum (skip temporary doctors)

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Location

Filters based on clinic site or address.
Useful for multi-location setups or location-specific instructions.

Examples:

• Is equal to → Downtown Clinic

• Is not equal to → Satellite Office

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Creator

Filters reminders based on who created the reminder or task. Use this when you only want automations to run for items created by a specific person or process.

Examples:

• Include: Contains → “Reception” (only reminders created by reception)

• Exclude: Contains → “System” (skip system-generated items)

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Source

Filters reminders by where they came from (for example, EMR vs form). This is useful when the same type of reminder can be generated from multiple places.

Examples:

• Include: Is equal to → EMR

• Exclude: Is equal to → Virtual Agent (don’t send duplicate reminders)

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Priority

Filters reminders by priority level (for example, Routine vs Urgent). Use this when your clinic wants different handling for urgent items.

Examples:

• Include: Is equal to → Urgent (send faster escalation workflow)

• Exclude: Is equal to → Routine (skip standard items)

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Task Message

Filters automations based on the task note/message text. This is mainly used with Task-Based triggers, so your automation only runs when a task is created or updated with a matching message.

Use this when your clinic relies on specific task wording like “Follow-up”, “Prescription refill”, or “Book appointment”.

How it works

• You enter one or more task messages.

• The automation only runs when the task’s message matches what you entered.

• You can Include matching tasks or Exclude them.

Examples

• Include: “Prescription Refill Request” (only run when that task message is used)

• Exclude: “FYI” (skip low-priority internal notes)

EMR note

• In some EMRs this is free text (must match closely).

• In others it may come from a pre-set list.

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Example Filter Setup

Filter	Operator	Value	Description
Appointment Status	Is equal to	Booked	Only send for active appointments
Appointment Type	Is equal to	Virtual	Send link for video visits
Location	Is equal to	Main Clinic	Only apply to main site

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Best Practices

• If you don’t set any filters, your automation will apply to all matching trigger events.

• Double-check EMR field names (status codes, types, and reasons) before setup.

• Use include/exclude logic strategically — for example, exclude Cancelled instead of including every other status.

• Combine filters for tight control over who receives each message.

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Next Step:
Once your filters are set, proceed to Actions to define what happens next — like sending a message, creating a task, or updating the EMR.