You can send scheduling links through text and email to any of your patients. To make it even better, you can also schedule appointments in real-time for any of your patients inside of Analytics. Gone are the days of having to mindlessly jump back and forth between two or three systems.
How to Send Scheduling Messages
Note: This feature is not currently available for Denticon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this functionality cost me any additional money?
As a paying Dental Intelligence and LocalMed customer, this functionality will come at no additional charge to your practice. The ability to send texts, emails, book appointments in real-time and copy scheduling links will now be accessible for your practice. If you don't see that functionality inside of Dental Intelligence, please reach out to our support team.
Can Analytics send text messages or emails to my patients to get them to schedule an appointment with my practice?
Yes! We've got some helpful resources that will show you step-by-step how to send scheduling messages:
What does the pre-built templates for text messages say?
If you are sending bulk online scheduling messages for a Hygiene Appointment Type, the message will include the following content:
"Hey Contact First Name. This is Messaging Name. It's time to get you | Patient First Name scheduled with your | their hygienist for a Teeth Cleaning.
We made this really easy for you to schedule. Just click the link below or feel free to give us a call. See you soon! Short Link"
If you are sending bulk online scheduling messages for a Restorative Appointment Type, the message will include the following content:
"Hey Contact First Name, you | Patient First Name have | has some dental work that needs to be taken care of at Messaging Name. Click here to schedule: Short Link
Note: Anything bolded will auto-fill with patient or practice information so you don't have to type it out manually and it will be unique to each patient you send the message to.
Can I customize the pre-built templates for text messages or emails?
Yes you can. To do this, follow the Online Scheduling Send Message process for either bulk or individual messaging and then click on any of the appointment types. From here, you'll notice a box at the bottom of the tab that shows the Message Preview. In the top right hand corner of the preview box, you'll see a Pencil icon. To change the wording of the message, click Edit and then make the changes you'd like. Once your changes have been made, click Done and then click Send when you are ready.
Bulk Message Example
Are there any additional charges for texting patients?
There are no additional charges for sending text messages to patients. We cover the fee for you and it is included in your monthly LocalMed subscription.
Will I have a record or history of how many texts or emails my team has sent to a patient?
Yes you will. Once your account is set up to use Online Scheduling, you'll notice a new icon at the bottom left-side navigation bar inside of your Dental Intelligence portal.
To view the Online Scheduling data in Dental Intelligence, click the Online Scheduling option, you'll have a complete look at all of your reports and also any appointments scheduled on your website, social media pages or Google business listing by your patients. If you click into the Patient Messaging tab you can view all texts and emails sent through Dental Intelligence.
All data, appointments & patients scheduled through LocalMed will be found in the Online Scheduling Tab:
All Online Scheduling Messages sent will be found in the Patient Messaging Tab:
What phone number and email address will text messages and emails come from?
When your patients receive a text message, it will come from a Dental Intelligence owned phone number. It will not come from your office number and we do not provide the ability to do that with this service.
Can patients respond to text messages or emails?
Patients can, but will most likely not respond to text messages or emails. Every text and email that gets sent from Dental Intelligence will include a scheduling link, making it very obvious that scheduling an appointment is the action the patient needs to take. If your patients happen to respond to a text message they will receive an Error - Invalid Response message. If you're concerned about receiving text message responses from your patient's, we recommend using the Send Your Own option where you can copy and paste scheduling links into your own drafted text messages. Choosing to send your own messages does require you to use your own patient communication platform.
If you're concerned about receiving email responses from your customers, we recommend chatting with our support team about how you can view any email responses.
How do I book patients myself inside of Analytics?
It doesn't look like I have the ability to schedule patients inside of Analytics. Why isn't it working for me?
First and foremost, your practice must be set up to use both Dental Intelligence and LocalMed.
If your practice is set up to use both LocalMed and Dental Intelligence and you still aren't seeing the new schedule feature, please contact our support team. They will be able to gather information for your practice and work with our team to ensure you're able to use this new scheduling functionality inside of Dental Intelligence.