A trigger tells your agent when to run. Every agent needs exactly one. Keragon supports two types — and the right choice depends on whether your agent should run on a fixed cadence or react to something happening in one of your apps.
The two trigger types
Schedule
On a recurring schedule you set.
Best for
Recurring tasks that happen on a clock.
Example
Every weekday at 8 AM.
Event
When something happens in a connected app.
Best for
Reacting to real activity in your stack.
Example
When a new patient is created in Athena Health.
Schedule trigger
Use a Schedule trigger when your agent runs on a regular cadence regardless of what's happening elsewhere — daily reports, weekly digests, nightly syncs.
Good fits
- Daily appointment summary pulled from DrChrono and posted to Slack
- Weekly patient follow-up report logged to Google Sheets
- Nightly patient record sync from JotForm intake submissions to Athena Health
How to set it up
- In the agent builder, click on the Trigger section.
- Choose Schedule.
- Set your frequency — every X minutes/hours, daily at a specific time, weekly on specific days, or a custom cron expression for advanced cases.
- Set your timezone so the schedule runs at the right local time.
- Click Save.
Tip: For agents that touch patient-facing systems (sending SMS, posting to public schedules), match your schedule to business hours so you don't get unexpected activity outside operating times.
Event trigger
Use an Event trigger when your agent should respond to something happening in one of your apps — a new appointment booked, a new patient record, a new form submission. The Event flow is built around Keragon's connected apps, so most of the time you don't need to touch a webhook URL or API yourself.
Good fits
- New patient submitted an intake form in JotForm → create a record in Healthie
- New appointment booked in Acuity Scheduling → send confirmation SMS via Spruce Health
- New patient created in Athena Health → run an onboarding sequence
- New lab result available in DrChrono → notify the care team in Slack
How to set it up
- In the agent builder, click on the Trigger section.
- Choose Event.
- From the Choose a trigger app list, pick the app where the event will happen — for example Athena Health, DrChrono, JotForm, or Acuity Scheduling. If you can't find the app you need, click Request a vendor and we'll add it.
- Pick the specific event you want to listen for. The available events vary by app — for example, Athena Health offers Appointment created or updated, Claim created or updated, and Patient created or updated.
- Click Save.
Note: The agent receives the full event payload from the source app. When you write your instructions in the next step, describe what fields the event contains so the agent knows what data it's working with.
Using a generic HTTP webhook (advanced)
If the system you want to listen to isn't in the trigger-app list, you can use a generic HTTP webhook trigger instead. Keragon will give you a webhook URL to paste into your custom system. For most healthcare teams the apps list is simpler — only reach for the webhook when there's no native app option.
Editing or replacing your trigger
Once a trigger is set, the Trigger section shows a green checkmark with two options:
- Edit — change the settings on the current trigger (e.g. shift a schedule from daily to hourly, or pick a different event for the same app).
- Replace — swap the trigger entirely (e.g. switch from Schedule to Event, or change the source app).
You can edit or replace your trigger at any time, even after publishing. If your agent is live, your changes take effect on the next run.
Which trigger should I use?
Pick a Schedule trigger when…
- The work happens on a clock, not in response to anything specific
- You're generating daily, weekly, or recurring reports
- You're syncing data between systems on a fixed cadence
- You want the work to run during business hours regardless of incoming activity
Pick an Event trigger when…
- You want the agent to respond the moment something happens in one of your apps
- You're processing form submissions, appointments, or new records as they come in
- You want a real-time response to a patient action (booking, intake, payment)
- Reacting fast matters more than running on a fixed cadence