Controlling When "Ready" Texts Go Out
Some pharmacy software marks a prescription as ready before it has actually been filled. This can cause patients to receive a "ready" text too early and show up before you're prepared for them. The SMS Delay Buffer lets you set a minimum wait time so Nimble holds the notification until your team has had enough time to fill the prescription.
What to turn on Rx Ready messages? Learn how here.
1. Overview
When you set a delay, Nimble waits at least that long before sending the patient a text. The delay is a minimum wait time — not an exact send time. The text may go out a little later, but it will never go out sooner than your configured time.
When a patient has multiple fills ready around the same time, Nimble sends one combined text instead of several separate ones. The wait time applies to each fill individually, so every fill gets the full minimum wait time you configured.
2. Who Can Use This Feature
This setting is available to all Collect pharmacies. If your pharmacy was previously on a manual 30-minute delay configured by the Nimble team, that value has been automatically moved to this setting — nothing changed for your patients, and you can now update it yourself at any time.
3. How to Set Your Delay
- Log in to your Pharmacy Dashboard.
- Go to your Communications page.
- Click Customize.
- Click Customize Text Message under Rx Ready Config.
- Enter your preferred wait time and save.
Your new wait time applies to the next fill that comes in after you save. Any fills already on the way to patients will send based on the previous setting.
To remove the delay entirely, set the value to 0.
4. How the Delay Works
The delay is a minimum wait time, not a fixed send time. Here are a few examples:
5. End-of-Day Texts
Nimble sends up to two texts per day per patient:
- First text of the day: Your wait time applies here.
- End-of-day text: Sent at or after 7:00pm to catch any fills that came in after the first text went out. Your wait time applies here too — if the most recent fill hasn't had its full wait time by 7:00pm, the text holds until it has.
6. Quiet Hours
Nimble does not send texts between 8:00pm and 7:59am. If your wait time or a late fill would push a text past 8:00pm, it will be held and sent at 8:00am the next morning. This applies to both the first text and the end-of-day text.
7. Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum wait time I can set?
6 hours (360 minutes).
What if I don't want any delay?
Set the value to 0 or leave it unset. Nimble will send texts based on its standard timing with no additional hold time.
Will changing my wait time affect texts that are already on the way?
No. Changes apply to the next fill that comes in after you save. Fills already on the way will send based on the wait time that was in place when they were triggered.
What if a late fill pushes a text past 8:00pm?
Nimble will hold the message and send it at 8:00am the next morning. This applies to both the first text and the end-of-day text.
My pharmacy was already on a manual delay — do I need to do anything?
No. Your 30-minute delay was automatically moved to the new setting. Your patients' experience is unchanged. You can now view and update your wait time anytime from your dashboard without contacting Nimble.
Can I set different wait times for different medications?
Not at this time. The wait time applies to all fills at your pharmacy.
What changed in my patient communications history?
If your pharmacy has a wait time configured, the patient's status in your communications history will now update after the wait time completes — not the moment your pharmacy software fires. This reflects when the text actually goes out.