Guide to SMS and email appointment communications
If you would like to reduce your DNA rate, confirmations and reminders sent by either SMS or Email can be a very useful tool in ensuring clients attend appointments.
This article will guide you through the steps you need to follow to customise and set up appointment communications for your clients.
You will need to make sure your clients are "opted in" to receive appointment communications via either email or SMS -> How do I opt in clients to receive email/sms confirmations and reminders?
Please note, if you check the opt in box after you have booked an appointment, no confirmation will be sent for that appointment. Reminders and any other communications you have set up will send as long as the patient is opted in before they are due to be sent.
It's important that you receive consent from your client before you send out any SMS/Email confirmations and reminders. If consent is not given, make sure you remember to opt them out!
To send appointment confirmations and reminders to your patients, you will need to set up communication triggers -> What are communication triggers?
These communication triggers can be used to inform your patients about appointments, and provide them with information about changes and cancellations. They define how, what and when appointment communications are sent by WriteUpp and are comprised of:
a delivery method
a message template
a trigger event
an optional link to a particular appointment type
an offset period
They are configured within Settings -> Scheduling -> Appointment Communication.
WriteUpp comes with a number of appointment communications predefined, which are covered here -> What confirmations and reminders are pre-defined within WriteUpp?
As your WriteUpp account comes with some appointment triggers already set up, please ensure you go through and customise these before sending any appointment communications. You should make sure you are 100% happy with what is set up before you start booking appointments for clients who are opted into communications!
You can see an overview of all of the different appointment communications you can send from WriteUpp here -> What appointment communications can I send from WriteUpp?
You can read more about setting up email confirmations and reminders here -> How do I set up email communications for appointments?
And about SMS confirmations and reminders here -> How do I set up SMS communications for appointments
Sending different communications for different appointment types is covered here -> Can I send different communications out for different appointments?
You can learn how to stop sending email communications here -> How do I turn off email appointment communications?
And about how to stop SMS communications here -> How do I turn off SMS appointment communications?
Trigger events are the events which take place within WriteUpp which can generate an automatic communication to your patients. You can learn more about trigger events here -> What are trigger events?
There are a number of default templates pre-defined within WriteUpp for use with confirmations and reminders. You can manage these, customise them to suit your practice and add new custom templates as you wish.
You can read about managing email templates here, with managing SMS templates covered in more detail here.
There are various ways in which you can manage your communications, including:
Can I change when appointment reminders are sent out?
How do I send a confirmation or reminder manually?
Can I resend an appointment reminder to a patient?
Can I check if a patient was sent an appointment confirmation/reminder?
You can read about modifying your communication preferences when booking an appointment here -> Can I modify the communications sent to a patient when booking an appointment?
And about how to "mute" communications for a particular appointment here -> How do I turn off confirmations and reminders on a single appointment basis?
You'll be able to let your patients know if one of their appointments has been changed, which is covered here -> How do I let my patients know if an appointment has been changed?
And also configure a communication to be sent if you have to cancel an appointment -> How do I let my patients know if their appointment has been cancelled?
If you have any problems with your communications and reminders, we have pulled together some of the most common issues here -> Problems with Appointment Communications
Communication triggers can look a bit scary, but follow the steps in the help articles above and you will soon get the hang of it. If you do get stuck, please grab us for a chat and we'll work through it together!
This article will guide you through the steps you need to follow to customise and set up appointment communications for your clients.
You will need to make sure your clients are "opted in" to receive appointment communications via either email or SMS -> How do I opt in clients to receive email/sms confirmations and reminders?
Please note, if you check the opt in box after you have booked an appointment, no confirmation will be sent for that appointment. Reminders and any other communications you have set up will send as long as the patient is opted in before they are due to be sent.
It's important that you receive consent from your client before you send out any SMS/Email confirmations and reminders. If consent is not given, make sure you remember to opt them out!
To send appointment confirmations and reminders to your patients, you will need to set up communication triggers -> What are communication triggers?
These communication triggers can be used to inform your patients about appointments, and provide them with information about changes and cancellations. They define how, what and when appointment communications are sent by WriteUpp and are comprised of:
a delivery method
a message template
a trigger event
an optional link to a particular appointment type
an offset period
They are configured within Settings -> Scheduling -> Appointment Communication.
WriteUpp comes with a number of appointment communications predefined, which are covered here -> What confirmations and reminders are pre-defined within WriteUpp?
As your WriteUpp account comes with some appointment triggers already set up, please ensure you go through and customise these before sending any appointment communications. You should make sure you are 100% happy with what is set up before you start booking appointments for clients who are opted into communications!
You can see an overview of all of the different appointment communications you can send from WriteUpp here -> What appointment communications can I send from WriteUpp?
You can read more about setting up email confirmations and reminders here -> How do I set up email communications for appointments?
And about SMS confirmations and reminders here -> How do I set up SMS communications for appointments
Sending different communications for different appointment types is covered here -> Can I send different communications out for different appointments?
You can learn how to stop sending email communications here -> How do I turn off email appointment communications?
And about how to stop SMS communications here -> How do I turn off SMS appointment communications?
Trigger events are the events which take place within WriteUpp which can generate an automatic communication to your patients. You can learn more about trigger events here -> What are trigger events?
There are a number of default templates pre-defined within WriteUpp for use with confirmations and reminders. You can manage these, customise them to suit your practice and add new custom templates as you wish.
You can read about managing email templates here, with managing SMS templates covered in more detail here.
There are various ways in which you can manage your communications, including:
Can I change when appointment reminders are sent out?
How do I send a confirmation or reminder manually?
Can I resend an appointment reminder to a patient?
Can I check if a patient was sent an appointment confirmation/reminder?
You can read about modifying your communication preferences when booking an appointment here -> Can I modify the communications sent to a patient when booking an appointment?
And about how to "mute" communications for a particular appointment here -> How do I turn off confirmations and reminders on a single appointment basis?
You'll be able to let your patients know if one of their appointments has been changed, which is covered here -> How do I let my patients know if an appointment has been changed?
And also configure a communication to be sent if you have to cancel an appointment -> How do I let my patients know if their appointment has been cancelled?
If you have any problems with your communications and reminders, we have pulled together some of the most common issues here -> Problems with Appointment Communications
Communication triggers can look a bit scary, but follow the steps in the help articles above and you will soon get the hang of it. If you do get stuck, please grab us for a chat and we'll work through it together!
Updated on: 13/08/2024
Thank you!