Am I charged per text message sent/received or per patient?
Text Reminders are charged per message (160 characters) sent to the patient, per text reminder reply received from the patient, and for the opt-out message. If the message is over 160 characters it will send multiple messages.
Do patients have to opt-in/opt-out?
Yes. CMD Text Reminder opt-in and opt-out services must be in accordance with applicable federal and state laws. You are not charged for the cost of opt-in messages or welcome messages sent to your patients; we cover this cost.
Patients are not sent opt-in messages every time an appointment is scheduled even if they haven't previously opted in. If a patient hasn't opted in, and an appointment is scheduled within 30 days from when the last opt-in message was sent, the patient will not receive another message. However, if the patient hasn't opted in and an appointment is scheduled 30 days after from when the initial opt-in message was sent, the patient will receive another opt-in message.
What does the opt-in message say?
"Reply YES to receive appointment alerts for <Practice Name>. Msg Freq Varies. Reply HELP for Help, STOP to Cancel. Msg/Data Rates May Apply."'
The only part of the message that can be customized is the name of the Practice, Provider or Scheduler Resource. To learn more reference the Appointment Reminders Help Article.
Will all my patients receive an opt-in message when the appointment reminders feature is enabled?
No - not immediately. Patients that existed prior to the service being enabled will only be sent an opt-in message the next time an appointment is created for them in the Scheduler.
An Opt-In message can be manually triggered at any time for them in the Patient section.
Can I resend the opt-in if a patient hasn't confirmed/has a new number?
Yes, you can resend the opt-in message with the patient's account or the appointment record.
If a patient changes their cell phone number, the opt-in message will automatically be sent to the new number on the same day it's saved within the patient's record.
How can a patient resume text reminders after they've opted-out?
Patients who have opted-out to receive appointment reminders can text the word 'RESUME' to 74121 or reply to one of the prior messages for the service to be turned back on.
Can we send text opt-in messages on a batch level?
The application is set up to automatically send opt-in messages and reminders to patients. The opt-in is triggered once the default has been selected in the Patient screen and/or an appointment has been saved in the Appointment Scheduler.
Is there a report that shows patients that have opted-in to receive text reminders?
To find out which patient shave opted-in to receive text reminders, run the Patient SMS Appt Reminder Opt In Status report.
Note: If you don't apply filters, the report will run for all patients.
What will show in the Patient section if a patient opts-out of text reminders?
The patient's account will reflect: "The patient has declined to receive appointment reminder texts."
Will appointment reminders be sent for appointments scheduled on the same day?
No, the appointment must be created at least one day before the appointment.
The list of patients to receive appointment reminders is sent to our third-party vendor daily at 1:00 AM EDT. All appointments created after 1:00 AM EDT for that day will not be sent an appointment reminder
Can patients confirm/cancel their appointment using appointment reminders?
Yes! The great thing about appointment reminders is that you're able to eliminate tedious front office tasks! To enable Appointment Reminders please reference our Appointment Reminders Help Article.
Why didn't my patient get an appointment reminder?
There are only two reasons a patent might not receive an appointment reminder:
No phone number is entered on the patient record.
The setup option is not correctly populated. To confirm, ensure Appointment Reminders are enabled and the Appointment Configuration is set up.