We’re thrilled to introduce the Patient Order Tracker, a powerful new feature available exclusively on SpecCheck Pro. It was one of our most requested features, and we built it to help you reduce those inbound "where's my order?" calls and provide a differentiated, modern experience for your patients.
High-Level Information
Available on All Orders: The tracker works for every order, including insurance jobs and orders not originally submitted through SpecCheck.
Patient-Friendly Statuses: We display simple, easy-to-understand statuses to your patients. They won't be bogged down with confusing production details, breakages, or restarts.
You Control the Final Alert: You remain in complete control. The crucial Ready for Pickup notification is only sent when you manually trigger it, ensuring patients don't show up before you're ready.
How To Use The Tracker On SpecCheck
Getting started is simple. The only piece of information you need is your patient's email address. Please ensure it is an email address that your patient checks regularly and it is spelled correctly!
For Orders Submitted on SpecCheck
The easiest way to use the tracker is to add the patient's email at the start of the order creation process.
When creating a new order, simply enter the patient's email address in the designated field.
Once the order is submitted, click the "Send Notification" button from the Order Details page to send the initial email to your patient that contains the link to the online tracking portal for their order.
For Orders Submitted Outside of SpecCheck (or Adding an Email Later)
If you didn't add an email during the initial order submission, or if the order was placed on another platform, you can easily add it later.
Navigate to the Order Details page for the relevant order.
In the Patient Order Tracker section, click the pencil icon if you need to add or edit an existing email.
Once the email is entered, click the "Send Notification" button. This will trigger the initial welcome email to your patient, containing the link to their tracking page.
Pro-Tip #1: The "Last Notification Sent" date will always be displayed in the Patient Order Tracker section of the Order Details page, so you always have a clear record of your communication.
Managing Notifications & Viewing the Patient Portal
From the Patient Order Tracker section on the Order Details page, you have several options:
Edit Email: Click the pencil icon to correct or update a patient's email address.
View Patient's Tracking Page: Curious what your patient sees? Click this link to view their exact tracking portal.
Send/Resend Notification: Need to resend the tracking link? Simply click the "Send Notification" button.
Marking an Order as "Ready for Pickup"
This is the most important step, and it’s been designed to keep opticians in full control. The system handles all the status updates automatically until the order is ready for the patient. Once the order has been marked as "Shipped" on SpecCheck, you can notify your patient that their glasses are ready for pickup by:
Going to the Order Details page for the order that is ready for pick up.
Clicking the "Send Notification" button.
Confirm you want to send the email.
This action will instantly update the patient's tracking portal to "Ready for Pickup" and send them a friendly email letting them know it's time to come in!
Handling Orders That Don't Pass Final Inspection At The Office
If you receive an order from the lab that does not pass final inspection, don't worry – the order tracker is designed to elegantly handle this handle this scenario.
When an order does not pass final inspection at your office and you need to have the order restarted by the lab, you will need to utilize the "Redo Order" button found on the Order Details page for the order. We recently made an update to allow you to use our quick and easy redo flow on all orders, not just those submitted on SpecCheck, to better support you. Be aware that you can only use the "Redo Order" button on orders once they have been marked as Shipped from the lab.
Submitting your Redo order this way automatically links the Redo order to the original order and allows your patient to continue using the same tracking portal they have been referencing for updates without notifying them that there have been any restarts. Instead, they will briefly see a new status of Exception Occurred.
As soon as the Redo order has been submitted and we start receiving updates for it (usually within 15-30 minutes of the order being received by the lab), the tracker will update to show the In Progress status again.
The last thing to know is that if you utilize this Redo flow, you will only be able to manage the Patient Order tracker from the most recent order (aka the most recent Redo order that you submitted). Rest assured, we will always make it easy for you to quickly jump to the most recent order if you want to access the Patient Order Tracker of the Order Details page for a Redo order.
Understanding Patient-Facing Statuses
We keep things simple for your patients. Here are the only six statuses they will ever see, and what they mean:
Getting Started: This status appears as soon as an order gets submitted, right before we start to receive production data from the lab.
In Progress: A general status that covers all the steps the order goes through at the lab, keeping the patient informed that work is underway.
Exception Occurred: If the order fails final inspection at your office and you submit a redo order, this is the status that your patient will see. This avoids confusion while still managing expectations.
Almost Ready: This status displays once the lab marks the order as shipped back to your office. It sets the expectation that pickup is just around the corner.
Ready for Pickup: The final, most exciting status! This is only triggered by you and notifies the patient that their order is officially ready.
Canceled: Displayed if the order has been canceled.
By leveraging the Patient Order Tracker, you can significantly cut down on inbound phone calls, save time on manual status checks, and provide an amazing, modern experience that your patients will love.
Have questions? We're here to help! Reach out to our team at [email protected].