Automated appointment communication in Engagement will simplify your daily tasks and reduce the number of outbound calls you need to make. In Engagement, there are multiple notification options that, once configured, will be sent out automatically.
In this article, we'll learn more about:
Before you activate appointment communication automation...
Automated appointment notifications use the content in your Engagement Verbiage section to populate messages. Verbiage acts as a library of all automated messages. Before activating automated appointment communications, be sure to customize messaging Verbiage.
Access Settings by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right hand corner
Click on the Verbiage tab
Here you will be able to click into each message type to view the content that is included. These will be separated as Text messages, Emails, and App Messages. We recommend you keep these similar to maintain consistency when communicating with patients
Automated Appointment Communication Options
Automated appointment communication in Engagement will simplify your daily tasks and reduce the number of outbound calls you need to make. In Engagement, there are multiple notification options that, once configured, will be sent out automatically. These notifications include:
New Patient Welcome Message
New Patient Welcome Message
New patient welcome notifications will send a welcome text to new patients who schedule their first appointment. This will include the date and time of the appointment. This message is sent 10 minutes after an appointment is created or the start time is changed.
In this notification, a link to complete forms will be included. New patients will receive new patient forms. Existing patients will receive forms if they haven’t already been filled out. They will also have the opportunity to update their information.
Note: If an appointment confirmation is scheduled to go out within 48 hours of the welcome notification, it will be skipped to avoid too many messages to the patient.
Appointment Save-the-Dates
Appointment Save-the-Dates
Appointment save-the-dates are sent to existing patients when they schedule an appointment and will include the date and time of the appointment.
Note: If an appointment confirmation is scheduled to go out within 48 hours of the save-the-date, it will be skipped to avoid too many messages to the patient.
Appointment Confirmation Requests
Appointment Confirmation Requests
Appointment confirmation requests are sent to patients at a customizable number of days prior to their appointment date. Choose to send up to 3 confirmation requests if the patient does not confirm after the first message is sent.
Check-In Request Notifications
Check-In Request Notifications
Automated check-in requests will simplify the check in process for you and your patients by going mobile! Set up your check-in notifications to meet the needs of your practice and cut down on the amount of time your patients spend at the front desk.
Upcoming Appointment Reminders
Upcoming Appointment Reminders
Appointment reminder messages help reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations by keeping your patients informed about their upcoming appointment. Choose to send up to 4 appointment reminders.
Engagement has included the 1st appointment reminder touchpoint by default.
If you would like to set up additional reminder messages, click on the blue Add TouchPoint button and choose to configure a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th reminder.
If a patient has multiple appointments scheduled to occur on the same day, the patient's reminder and confirmation will list all appointment start times. For example:
If Johnny is scheduled for hygiene then restorative as separate appointments on the same day, Johnny's confirmation and reminder will start with: "Johnny (8:00 AM), Johnny (9:00 AM), please respond with C to confirm your appointment."
Family Appointment Reminders
Patients who are listed as a Guarantor with dependent family member(s) will receive combined appointment reminder and confirmation communications as long as each family member's appointment starts within 1 hour of each other.
For example, patient Jenny Foster is listed as a Guardian with her two kids Sutton and Sage labeled as her dependents. Jenny is labeled as their Guarantor.
Jenny and her kids are scheduled for three appointments today. Because Jenny is the Guarantor, she is the only patient in this family who will receive this consolidated appointment reminder message:
"Sage (3:10 PM), Sutton (3:20 PM), Jenny (3:30 PM), just a reminder that you have an appointment with Perfect Dental today at 3:10 PM."
You can review the combined appointment reminder message in the Communication log of the patient card.
You can also review automatically sent messages in the Communication tab of Engagement. Just click on the Automatic section from the dropdown on the left side menu and apply the desired filters to populate sent messages.
If you would like to set up patients to receive independent appointment reminders (not combined), please contact our support team.
Online Review Requests
Online Review Requests
In Engagement, you have the ability to send online review requests to patients automatically or manually, depending on your preferences. Choose the timing, delivery channel, as well as the review sites where patients should leave their comments.
Activate Automated Appointment Communications
Once you've reviewed all of your Verbiage, it's easy to pick and choose which automated appointment communications you'd like to enable from TouchPoints™, your centralized automations dashboard in Engagement.
From the left side menu of Engagement, click on Follow Ups, then click TouchPoints™ to get started
Click on the Appointments tile and review the list of default appointment communication types. Each type will show as inactive until it is configured or until you click on the toggle to activate it
You may also click the blue Add TouchPoint button to add another automated communication that is not included in Engagement's default list
To review each touchpoint's default settings, click on the 3-dot menu and then click Edit
Make any desired changes and then click the blue Save button
Upon clicking save, you'll notice that the TouchPoint toggle will turn green and the status will show as Active. This automated communication type will now be sent to your patients
Important: Once a TouchPoint has been activated, Engagement will start sending notifications according to the settings that are established. Please make sure that your messaging Verbiage has been set up.