In our system, we have three time zones in which the patient-oriented emails and SMS reminders are sent out:

1. USA (UTC-6)
2. Europe (UTC+2)
3. Asia (UTC+8)

During the registration process, the time zone is set based on the subscriber’s local time. All investigators who registered before March 10, 2022 were assigned to the USA (UTC-6).

Any subscriber can define their own time zone.

Team members will inherit the same time zone as their subscriber.

Please contact your Account Manager to set a preferable time zone for sending emails/SMS to your patients.

The case commencement date settings affect the time that emails and SMS messages are sent.

Commencement date = 0 days

Key items / settings:

1. Commencement date = 0 days;
2. First survey due = 0 days;
3. Investigator and patient are in the same time zone.

Result: All emails, SMS and Benchmarc™ messages which are due will be sent immediately (possible delay of ~10-15 minutes).

Commencement date = 1 day

Key items / settings:

1. Commencement date = 1 day;
2. First survey due = 0 days;
3. Clinician and patient are in the same time zone. Case creation time is 8 AM.‍

Result: Emails and SMS are sent from 8 AM on the following after the case creation day, Benchmarc™ Home Messages are triggered based on UTC 00:00. When an investigator and a patient have different time zones and the time lapse is great, there are nuances in email and SMS delivery.

E.g., If the case was created in Singapore (UTC+8) and the patient’s time zone is USA (UTC-6), US patients have to wait several hours to receive their notifications.)

Patient Survey Availability on Benchmarc™

Survey availability is based on the patient's local time. Patient-oriented surveys are available on Benchmarc™ beginning at 12 AM on the due date.

When an investigator and a patient are in the same time zone, there is no delay in survey availability from the investigator’s standpoint.‍