Automated communications allow messages to be scheduled around events such as appointments, the creation of invoices or estimates. Using automation means that you never forget to email an invoice, or an estimate again. Let Dentally take care of it for you.
This article covers;
To create an automated communication rule
Automated Communications are set up around rules.
To create an automation rule, start at Settings > Automation. You need to have Level 4 (Administrator) permissions to do this.
Rule Description
Give the Rule a name
Select a type - Appointment, Invoice or Estimate
Leave Active as No until you are ready to set the automation active
Set an Appointment Type automatic communication
Trigger
Now set what triggers the automation.
Set the time the message is due to be sent out
Set the time - Hour, Day or Week
Before or After the appointment
Start time of the trigger event (this is the only option at present)
The appointment criteria now needs to be set - as a default, the automation will contact ALL appointments
Click on +Add Filter Condition
Trigger Filter Conditions
The first time you set up Automated Communications, the trigger field looks like this
Click on +Add Filter Condition to set the trigger
Use the Trigger filters to refine the automation.
You have the option of State, Site ID and Reason.
For each attribute, you will have related conditions. For Example, Appointment Reason will show you appointment reasons, such as Exam, or Implant, or Emergency. Site id will allow you, if you are a multiple site practice, to filter only those patients from your site.
You can check more than 1 check box. For example you may have a post-treatment message that you send to patients, in which case you might use both Completed and In Surgery as your trigger options in case the appointment was not marked as complete at the time.
Make sure that you select the + Add Condition button at the end of the list. This adds the selected trigger criteria to your list.
If you do not use the + Add Condition button, your criteria will not be saved.
You can build very specific conditions for your communication. For example, you can send your SMS to those patients who attend one site, who attended an Exam type appointment.
NOTE: For pre appointment reminders and confirmations, your trigger should be set to only contact appointments of status Pending or Confirmed, or you may remind patients about cancelled appointments!
Set an Invoice type automatic communication
An automated correspondence will be sent the set amount of time after an invoice has been created. If an email is sent as part of the automation, the invoice will be attached as a PDF document to the email. If the invoice is created, triggering the rule, but is then subsequently deleted, an email will not be sent. Unpaid invoices will be sent showing the outstanding amount. Paid invoices will be sent showing as a receipt, detailing the payments made against it. The rule can be set to send the correspondence depending on the payment status of the invoice, ie regardless if it is paid or not, only send unpaid invoices to the patient, or only send paid invoices (receipts) to the patient.
Trigger
Now set what triggers the automation.
Set the Rule name
Set the Type to Invoice
Set the Trigger to be the time after the invoice is created. The minimum is 1 hour so that if you need to delete an invoice you won't send an incorrect invoice to a patient.
Select the Invoice conditions (if no conditions are set, paid and unpaid invoices will both trigger correspondence to be sent)
The attribute 'Paid' and No will lead to an email or SMS about an unpaid invoice.
The attribute 'Paid' and Yes will lead to an email or SMS with a receipt.
Set an Estimate type automatic communication
An automated correspondence will be sent the set amount of time after an estimate treatment plan has been created. If an email is sent as part of the automation, the estimate will be attached as a PDF document to the email. If an estimate is created in error and is deleted, the message will not be sent.
Trigger
Now set what triggers the automation.
Set the Rule name
Set the Type to Estimate
Set the Trigger to be the time after the estimate is created. The minimum is 1 hour so that if you need to rethink treatment, it gives you time to do so. Deleting the estimate and producing another will result in the most recent estimate being sent.
Setting up your desired message
Now select the message template you want to use for each delivery mechanism, SMS or Email.
Or, if you haven't yet created a template you can create a new one from here - click on + Create SMS Template or + Create Email Template
Message Preferences
Select the preference that best suits the message you are sending.
You can set the order in which you would like the automated messages to be attempted.
SMS Email - attempt to send an SMS first. If the SMS fails, then try patient's email.
Email SMS - attempt to send an email first, then if the email fails, attempt to send an SMS.
All - send correspondence where a template is set.
If there is both an SMS and an email template, and the patient has both a mobile number and an email address, the patient will receive the message twice.
You might choose SMS first, then email in instances where it is important that a message is read in a timely manner. For example, a contactless reception check-in message.
You might choose email first for messages which are not as time sensitive, such as post appointment feedback messages. Attachments, such as invoices and estimates can only be sent by email.
Select the preference that best suits the message you are sending.
Save and Set Active
When you save, the automation is set to Active.
Change this, and set Active to No to pause the automation until you are ready to set it in motion.
To turn on the automated communication
Click on Settings > Automation
Set the list filter to All from Active
Click the edit icon to the far right on the name line
Set Active to Yes and Save
How automation will catch-up with your patients?
The Automation feature will catch up and send the messages that it now considers overdue as soon as the automation is set to active. There are important things to consider; for example:
If you book an appointment after the trigger timeframe is due then the messages will 'catch-up' and still send to the patient. For example, if the trigger is for a reminder to be sent 3 weeks before the appointment and the appointment itself is only booked 2 weeks in advance, then the message will still send through to the patient.
This will catch up on all communication that has been missed, so bear in mind if you have multiple messages set to send over the two weeks before an appointment and you book an appointment for the current day they will receive all the missed messages at once.
If you create a rule to send a pre-appointment information email 5 days before the patients' appointments; once saved, the rule will then check to see if there are any appointments that have not been contacted and are in effect overdue. It will then 'catch up' and send those messages in its next pass and will therefore send the messages to all applicable appointments in the next 5 days, until the rule is satisfied. From that point on, the messages will the start to go as and when the appointments are 5 days in the future.
If you set the automation up in the evening, the system will catch up with the current days communications e.g. if the automation is activated at 11:30pm it will catch up on anything the rule matches that could have been sent that day and send these out.
Automation rule example from start to finish.
In this example, the rule is called Post Appointment Correspondence
It is set to be triggered 1 day after the patient has been marked as arrived, or in surgery.
It is set to use Email first - the template called Post visit feedback - and then to try SMS using the template Appointment - Post visit thank you.
Once saved, it is automatically Active, but I don't want it to start just yet, so I have set Active to No until I am ready to set it in motion.