Send an SMS Message to a Patient from the Waiting Room

You can send a SMS message to a patient from the Waiting Room.

Before you begin

To receive SMS reminders, a patient must have a mobile number recorded and must have agreed to be sent SMS messages. If this has not already been done, you can enter the mobile number and agreement while sending the SMS via the Waiting Room.

Procedure

To send an SMS reminder from the Waiting Room:
  1. Either:
    • Select a patient in the Waiting Room to whom you want to send a message and click Send SMS to Patient icon Send SMS to Patient.
    • Right-click a patient record from the Waiting Room and select Send SMS To Patient.
  2. If the patient is not already set up to receive SMS reminders, in the Patient Contact Details window:
    1. Enter the patient's mobile number.
    2. If the patient consents to receive SMS reminders, set Send SMS.
    3. Click OK.
  3. In the Send SMS to Patient window, check the patient's mobile number.
  4. To write a message, either:
    • From the Select Template list, select a predefined message to send to this patient.
      Tip:
      If you customise the message and want to update the template with the changes for future messages, click Save changes.
    • Enter your message into the text field.
      Tip:
      Use merge fields to quickly build a message with fields that are replaced with the patient's information when the SMS message is sent. To use the fields:
      • Position your cursor where you want the field.
      • Select an item from the Merge fields list.
      • Click Insert.

      To save this message as a new message template, click Save as Template.

    Press Preview to see how your message looks.

  5. Click Send.

Results

The message is sent to the patient.

What to do next

To check that a patient was sent an SMS, review the SMS Logs.